Afghanistan

Fülszöveg

AFGHANISTAN
Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
edited by FREDRIK HIEBERT and PIERRE CAMBON
Renowned for a magnificently treacherous mountain terrain, and for a brave tradition that has defeated invaders from ancient nomads to the Soviet Army, the Afghans bestride one of the most famous and lucrative trading routes in history, the Silk Road. At the nexus of this route, Afghans laid claim to a fabulous wealth of treasures from Europe, the Middle East, China, India, Africa, and the West.
Among these troves, one glitters with a particular intensity. Lost for centuries and unearthed only months before the Russian invasion of 1979, this find and its centerpiece, known as the Bactrian Hoard, was saved from invaders and the Taliban by a group who have come to be known as "the key holders": curators and guards of the Afghan National Museum, who risked their lives to hide the finest pieces for nearly thirty years. These ordinary Afghans withstood the threat of violence... Tovább

Fülszöveg

AFGHANISTAN
Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
edited by FREDRIK HIEBERT and PIERRE CAMBON
Renowned for a magnificently treacherous mountain terrain, and for a brave tradition that has defeated invaders from ancient nomads to the Soviet Army, the Afghans bestride one of the most famous and lucrative trading routes in history, the Silk Road. At the nexus of this route, Afghans laid claim to a fabulous wealth of treasures from Europe, the Middle East, China, India, Africa, and the West.
Among these troves, one glitters with a particular intensity. Lost for centuries and unearthed only months before the Russian invasion of 1979, this find and its centerpiece, known as the Bactrian Hoard, was saved from invaders and the Taliban by a group who have come to be known as "the key holders": curators and guards of the Afghan National Museum, who risked their lives to hide the finest pieces for nearly thirty years. These ordinary Afghans withstood the threat of violence (and in at least one case, actual torture) at the hands of ruthless would-be thieves, and endured hardship, hunger, fear and temptation to keep their dangerous secret, until the exquisite craftsmanship of the Bactrian Hoard was again revealed—and exhibited as a symbol of a newly resurgent Afghanistan.
This unique and beautiful collection travels the United States from the spring of 2.008 until the fall of 2009. The remarkable volume you hold in your hands is the catalogue for this exhibition, a stunning full-color portfolio of hundreds of photographs that captures all the drama, beauty, and historical heritage of the Bactrian Hoard and the Afghan culture it so eloquently represents.
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" one of the greatest arch^ological discoveries ^f the 20^ century."
—Hhe Washington Post i ^ -Zj, ' 1
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IN 1978, AN ARCHAEOLOGIST UNEARTHEt) A'TOMB SEALED FOR 2,000 years to discover one of tlie great finds of history: an^extraordinary trove of hundreds of artifacts'cort^rising some Z2,obo iftdrvidii;aljpie,ces of gold. Within months, a Sc^iet invasion isolated' tfie coiilitr| and tl^ treasure disappear|^ into legenil once;morer-^unti|& = ^
As war, raged across the jagged Afghan c^^tryside!,^ the staff of the Afghan Natioj|kl Musei|^ spirited it i^way, piece by'jpie^^^ ing places all ov?r the Kabul region, each tin^e frisking ;theii d Sworn to silence, it was a sccret th^, kept ufltil the'fall of the Taliban— almost thirty yearsicfdeadly danger, courage, khd fierpe honor. ^
Memorialized in this lavish volume, the heart of this^pricdess collection is called the Bactriah Hoard. At last this nomadic king's ransom is back on display—now featuring a modern chapter ai breathtaking as the legendary Hoard itself
"We need to put a face on Afghanistan so it does not once again become a forgotten country." —Fredrik Hiebert, National Geographic Vissza