Often when we wake during our stay in Paris we have no idea what we are going to do with our day. We check the weather, read the paper, eat our fresh croissants, check to see if there is anything special going on that grabs our fancy, then decide. One day last week was typical. After a leisurely morning chez nous, we checked to see which museums were open (most are closed on Monday) and were intrigued by the special exhibit of Afghan treasures at the Guimet museum of Asiatic art.
Our interest in Afghanistan has grown since we read the amazing story of a young Scotsman who, shortly before the Taliban were dislodged, traversed Afghanistan on foot following in the footsteps of Babur, the 15th century Indian Emperor. The Places in Between by Rory Stewart opened my eyes to the strength of the tribal cultures, the hardship of everyday life of most if not all Afghans and especially the reality of their lack of knowledge and information about much of what goes on outside their small communities.
The genesis of the exhibit now showing at the Guimet dates back to the Taliban's destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. Soon afterwords, the Guimet museum, along with a museum in Barcelona, organized an exhibition of Afghan art to make a statement to the world that the destruction of the Buddhas and other art treasures would not obliterate the important contributions of Afghanistan's people to the patrimony of humankind. An exhibition was quickly pulled together using holdings of museums outside of Afghanistan and was mounted in Barcelona, Paris, Tokyo and Houston.
At about the same time, rumors began to surface in the art world that some of the Kabul museum's collection had escaped the pillage of the 1990's. In time, the world learned that precious objects, most dating back more than 2,000 years, had been safely hidden in Afghanistan's central bank located within the confines of the Presidential palace in Kabul. Understandably, the post-Taliban Afghan government does not yet consider it safe to restore the salvaged items to the Kabul museum because of the its vulnerable location far from the Presidential Palace. Thus, the idea of displaying the treasures in a safer environment was appealing. Sensitive negotiations between the Guimet museum and diplomatic support from President Jacques Chirac resulted in the current exposition at the Guimet.
The collection is amazing. Not surprisingly, almost everything on display is small, but the craftsmanship and beauty is exquisite, even when the artifacts are broken or incomplete. Jewelry, small statues and a few bowls crated in gold constitute the largest number of objects on display. There are also beautiful, intricate, ivory carvings, delicate ceramic bowls, and colorful blown glass that looks as though it had been created yesterday.
The obvious influences of the art from the then-known world reflects Afghanistan's geographical position and reveals a sophisticated and highly educated culture. Greco-Roman, Indian and Chinese influences are evident. The contrast between the Afghanistan of today and the country that produced the beautiful art on display broke my heart.
The one drawback is that the exhibit space is not large enough and to see the jewelry close up it is necessary to wait in line. To add to that frustration, it is not clear where the line forms. I stood in one line only to have dozens of people go in front of me who had joined the line much later. (People that know me know that I do not tolerate such frustrations well.) After standing in line for more than half an hour I discovered that I could have avoided the wait and simply walked behind the people standing in front of the glass cases displaying the gold and looked between their heads at those items that interested me, free to move on as I wished.
The exhibit is at the Guimet through April 30.
