Kabul Museum
Encyclopedia
The National Museum of Afghanistan (Persian
: موزیم ملی افغانستان, Muzem-e milli-ye Afghanistan), also known as the Afghan National Museum or the Kabul Museum, is a two-story building located 9 km southwest of the center of Kabul City
in Afghanistan
. It was built in 1922 during the reign of King Amanullah Khan
. The collection inside the museum was transfered from another location in the city and began as a 'Cabinet of Curiosities' in 1919. In 1973, a Danish
Architect was hired to design a new building for the museum, but the plans were never carried out due to political instability.
Its collection had earlier been one of the most important in Central Asia
, with over 100,000 items dating back several millennia. After the collapse of President Najibullah
's government and during the start of the civil war in the early 1990s, the museum was looted numerous times resulting in a loss of 70% of the 100,000 objects on display. In 1989, the Bactrian Gold
was moved to an underground vault at the Central Bank of Afghanistan.
In March 1994, the museum, which had been used as a military base, was struck by rocket fire and largely destroyed. The Ministry of Information and Culture
of President Rabbani
's government ordered that the 71 museum staff begin moving the inventory to Kabul Hotel in order to rescue them from further rocketing and shelling. In September 1996, staff at the museum completed the cataloging of the remaining materials. Between 2003 and 2006, about $350,000 were spent to refurbish the building. Fortunately, many of the most precious objects had been sealed in metal boxes and removed for safety and were recovered and inventoried in 2004. Some archeological objects were found in vaults in Kabul, while a collection was also discovered in Switzerland.
Many treasures of ivory are stored there, as are antiquities from Kushan, early Buddhism, and early Islam. One of the most famous pieces in the museum, and known to have survived the turbulent period in the 1990s is the Rabatak Inscription of King Kanishka
.
and Surkh Kotal
; the spectacular collection of objects found at a merchants warehouse in the city of Begram, which include ivories from India, mirrors from China, and glassware from the Roman Empire; the stucco heads of Hadda; Buddhist sculpture from Tepe Sardar and other monastic institutions in Afghanistan; and a large collection of Islamic art from the Ghazvanid and Timurid periods found at Ghazni.
Dari (Persian)
Dari or Fārsī-ye Darī in historical terms refers to the Persian court language of the Sassanids. In contemporary usage, the term refers to the dialects of modern Persian language spoken in Afghanistan, and hence known as Afghan Persian in some Western sources. It is the term officially recognized...
: موزیم ملی افغانستان, Muzem-e milli-ye Afghanistan), also known as the Afghan National Museum or the Kabul Museum, is a two-story building located 9 km southwest of the center of Kabul City
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. It was built in 1922 during the reign of King Amanullah Khan
Amanullah Khan
Amanullah Khan was the King of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah. He led Afghanistan to independence over its foreign affairs from the United Kingdom, and his rule was marked by dramatic political and social change...
. The collection inside the museum was transfered from another location in the city and began as a 'Cabinet of Curiosities' in 1919. In 1973, a Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Architect was hired to design a new building for the museum, but the plans were never carried out due to political instability.
Its collection had earlier been one of the most important in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, with over 100,000 items dating back several millennia. After the collapse of President Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai , originally merely Najibullah, was the fourth and last President of the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He is also considered the second President of the Republic of Afghanistan.-Early years:Najibullah was born in August 1947 to the Ahmadzai...
's government and during the start of the civil war in the early 1990s, the museum was looted numerous times resulting in a loss of 70% of the 100,000 objects on display. In 1989, the Bactrian Gold
Bactrian Gold
The Bactrian Treasure is a treasure cache that lay under the "Hill of Gold" in Afghanistan for 2,000 years until Soviet archeologists exposed it shortly before the 1979 invasion...
was moved to an underground vault at the Central Bank of Afghanistan.
In March 1994, the museum, which had been used as a military base, was struck by rocket fire and largely destroyed. The Ministry of Information and Culture
Council of Ministers (Afghanistan)
The Council of Ministers was the governmental organ in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and later the Republic of Afghanistan. The leader of the Council of Ministers choose ministers for the different ministeral posts in the country. Under the leadership of Nur Mohammad Taraki, Hafizullah...
of President Rabbani
Burhanuddin Rabbani
Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani was President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. After the Taliban government was toppled during Operation Enduring Freedom, Rabbani returned to Kabul and served as a temporary President from November to December 20, 2001, when Hamid Karzai was...
's government ordered that the 71 museum staff begin moving the inventory to Kabul Hotel in order to rescue them from further rocketing and shelling. In September 1996, staff at the museum completed the cataloging of the remaining materials. Between 2003 and 2006, about $350,000 were spent to refurbish the building. Fortunately, many of the most precious objects had been sealed in metal boxes and removed for safety and were recovered and inventoried in 2004. Some archeological objects were found in vaults in Kabul, while a collection was also discovered in Switzerland.
Collections
Rabatak inscription
The Rabatak inscription is an inscription written on a rock in the Bactrian language and the Greek script, which was found in 1993 at the site of Rabatak, near Surkh Kotal in Afghanistan...
.
Archaeological Materials
As the National Museum Kabul has been the repository for many of the most spectacular archaeological finds in the country. These include the painted frescos from Dilberjin; inscriptions, fragments of architecture, sculpture, metal objects, and coins rescued from the French excavations at Ai-KhanoumAi-Khanoum
Ai-Khanoum or Ay Khanum , was founded in the 4th century BC, following the conquests of Alexander the Great and was one of the primary cities of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom...
and Surkh Kotal
Surkh Kotal
Surkh Kotal, alternate names: Chashma-i Shir or Sar-i Chashma is an ancient archaeological site located in the southern part of the region of Bactria, in today's northern Afghanistan, 18 km north of the city of Puli Khumri, the capital of the province Baghlan.It is the location of monumental...
; the spectacular collection of objects found at a merchants warehouse in the city of Begram, which include ivories from India, mirrors from China, and glassware from the Roman Empire; the stucco heads of Hadda; Buddhist sculpture from Tepe Sardar and other monastic institutions in Afghanistan; and a large collection of Islamic art from the Ghazvanid and Timurid periods found at Ghazni.
Numismatic Collection
The numismatic collection of the Museum has never been catalogued of published. Individual parts of the collection which were recovered in archaeological context have been published by the original excavators. DAFA (Delegation Archaeologie Francais Afghanistan) published the coin finds made at the town of Surkh Kotal. Some of the coins found at the excavation of Begram have been published. Part of the Mir Zakah hoard, a very unusual deposit containing enormous numbers of coins from the fourth century BC to third century AD, totalling 11,500 silver and copper coins were kept in the museum. Part of the hoard was published by DAFA. The museum has appointed a curator for Numismatics but the collection remains closed to scholars and the general public.The travelling collection
Certain important parts of the collection, including material from Begram, Ai Khanum, Tepe Fullol, and the gold jewellry from all six of the excavated burials at Tillya Tepe, have been on travelling exhibition since 2006. They have been exhibited at the Guimet Museum in France, Four museums in the USA, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Bonn Museum in Germany, and most recently to the British Museum. They continue to tour and will eventually return to the National Museum.See also
- Afghan MuseumAfghan MuseumThe Afghan Museum is private museum of culture and cultural history of Afghanistan, situated in the historic and picturesque Speicherstadt of Hamburg, Germany...
- UAE Public Library and Cultural CenterUAE Public Library and Cultural CenterThe UAE Public Library and Cultural Center is actually three buildings: a 1,000,000 volume National Library, a performance auditorium and a Conference/Exhibit Center. The site includes a main entrance court with a central fountain, an amphitheater for public & children’s performances and a...
- Hisham N. AshkouriHisham N. AshkouriHisham N. Ashkouri is a Boston and New York-based architect.Dr. Ashkouri graduated first in class in 1970 with a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from the University of Baghdad and continued for his Masters of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania under the late Louis I. Kahn in 1973...
External links
- Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul | National Geographic
- Gold Exhibit
- The National Museum of Afghanistan: In Times of War by Joanie Meharry
- Kabul Museum
- The Pillage of Kabul Museum
- Museum Under Siege by Nancy Hatch Dupree
- "Lost" Afghan Treasures Found
- Association for the Protection of Afghan Archeology