Treasure of Begram

Treasure of Begram
Treasure of Begram
	Helmeted Athena, Treasure of Begram, Guimet Museum (MG19073)
Period/culture	1st or 2nd century CE
Discovered	34°58′00″N 69°18′00″E / 34.966667°N 69.300000°E
Place	Bagram (Begram), Afghanistan.
	Begram Begram Begram

The Treasure of Begram or Begram Hoard is a group of artifacts from the 1st-2nd century CE discovered in the area of Begram, Afghanistan. The French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan (DAFA) conducted excavations at the site between 1936 and 1940, uncovering two walled-up strongrooms, Room 10 and Room 13. Inside, a large number of bronze, alabaster, glass (remains of 180 pieces), coins, and ivory objects, along with remains of furniture and Chinese lacquer bowls, were unearthed. Some of the furniture was arranged along walls, other pieces stacked or facing each other.^[1]^[2] In particular, a high percentage of the few survivals of Greco-Roman enamelled glass come from this discovery.

The Begram ivories are a sub-group of over a thousand decorative plaques, small figures and inlays, carved from ivory and bone, and formerly attached to wooden furniture. They are rare and important exemplars of Kushan art of the 1st or 2nd centuries CE, attesting to the cosmopolitan tastes and patronage of local dynasts, the sophistication of contemporary craftsmanship, and to the ancient trade in luxury goods.^[3]^[4]

History

The ancient city of Kapisa (near modern Bagram), in Bactria was the summer capital of the Kushan Empire, which stretched from northern Afghanistan to northwest India between the 1st and the 4th centuries. Some eighty miles from Kabul, the strategically located city dominated two passes through the Hindu Kush, connecting Bactria with Gandhara (modern north-east Pakistan.^[1]

The finds were divided, in accordance with the system of partage, between the Musée Guimet and the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul. After the Kabul Museum closed in 1978 the whereabouts of the ivories was uncertain, and many items were looted in the 1990s.^[1]

A number of the missing items were located in 2004, and a further group of twenty pieces, illicitly traded by antiquities dealers, was later recovered and is to be repatriated. After conservation treatment in the British Museum they were exhibited there in 2011.^[4]^[5]

Major artifacts

Glass

Glass with painting of a Roman gladiator.
Blue bottle with amphora shape.
Glass bottle
Vial in the shape of a fish.

Ivory

Ivory plaques.
Ivory plaques
Ivory box with ornaments.
Ivory furniture part, Begram Hoard, Guimet Museum (MA230).

Plaster

Emblema with Endymion and Selene^[6]
Medallion

Other materials

Mercury, Begram Hoard, Guimet MG21230.
Yakshini on top of a makara.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Simpson, St John (2011). "The discovery of Begram (pp. 8–15)". The Begram Hoard: Indian Ivories from Afghanistan. The British Museum. ISBN 978-0-7141-1178-0.
^ Hamilton, Adrian (7 March 2011). "Ancient wonders of Afghanistan". The Independent. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
^ Simpson, St John (2011). The Begram Hoard: Indian Ivories from Afghanistan. The British Museum. ISBN 978-0-7141-1178-0.
^ ^a ^b Beaumont, Peter (27 February 2011). "The Begram ivories: rescuing Afghanistan's lost history". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
^ Simpson, St John (2011). "Introduction". The Begram Hoard: Indian Ivories from Afghanistan. The British Museum. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-7141-1178-0.
^ Médaillon de plâtre servant probablement de modèle, réinterprété dans les cultures locales en fonction de divers programmes : palettes à fards ou plats pour des rites domestiques, monnaies Kushan, décors aujourd'hui disparus.

External links

Begram Ivory and Bone Carvings (Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative)

[History-1] Simpson, St John (2011). "The discovery of Begram (pp. 8–15)". The Begram Hoard: Indian Ivories from Afghanistan. The British Museum. ISBN 978-0-7141-1178-0.

[2] Hamilton, Adrian (7 March 2011). "Ancient wonders of Afghanistan". The Independent. Retrieved 8 March 2011.

[3] Simpson, St John (2011). The Begram Hoard: Indian Ivories from Afghanistan. The British Museum. ISBN 978-0-7141-1178-0.

[Guardian-4] Beaumont, Peter (27 February 2011). "The Begram ivories: rescuing Afghanistan's lost history". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2011.

[5] Simpson, St John (2011). "Introduction". The Begram Hoard: Indian Ivories from Afghanistan. The British Museum. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-7141-1178-0.

[6] Médaillon de plâtre servant probablement de modèle, réinterprété dans les cultures locales en fonction de divers programmes : palettes à fards ou plats pour des rites domestiques, monnaies Kushan, décors aujourd'hui disparus.

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Treasure of Begram

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