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loI went to the San FranciscoAsianArt Museum last week to check out their temporary exhibit on Afghanistan. The exhibit contains objects on loan from the national museum of Kabul and San Francisco is the first of three stops in the US (the next are Houston and New York). Since 9/11 America has been fixated on Afghanistan but much of the coverage has described its poverty, its wars, and its harsh treatment of women. But this exhibit shows the country in a different light. It concentrates on the unique archaeological finds in Afghanistan and its storied past.

What I found interesting about the exhibit was that few of the treasures on display were actually created by the Afghans themselves, but by the many invading armies that have passed through the country over the centuries. Then, as now, Afghanistan is a battleground and a place eyed by colonizers since the days of ancient Greece. The two reasons for this are Afghanistan’s rugged topography and its location at the crossroads of Asia. Both of these factors made it a sort of bottleneck for any would be conquerors – Alexander the Great from the west and Chinggis Khan from the east, among others.

On of the featured exhibits was of an ancient city built by the Greeks in northern Afghanistan. Ai-Khanum was described as having all the amenities needed for a homesick Greek, including swimming pools, a gymnasium, good schools and a theater. Greek statues, pieces of columns and various bits of art collected from the site were on display. It was a little bizarre to see that the very first piece of art on display in the museum was not an Afghan-created relic but a two foot tall Greek statue of Poseidon (or some bearded Greek god). Other relics of Greek culture followed, including glassware and a unique bronze piece of fish with fins that moved when set above water.

The exhibit included a computer generate video display of what Ai-Khanum looked like in its heyday. To my mind, the place was clearly designed to make the ancient Greek colonizer feel right at home, as if Alexander the Great could advertise the place back in old Athens to attract more settlers. (“Come to Afgahnistan! Affordable housing! High paying jobs! Great benefits package!)

A second exhibit displayed pieces unearthed from a tomb at Tillya Tepe in Bacrtria (northern Afghanistan). The tomb was that of a 1^st century nomad horde that had come from to Afghanistan from Central Asia (or possibly Mongolia). The tomb had been sealed up for 2000 years until its opening in 1978. Thousands of gold pieces and priceless treasure were revealed. But shortly after the tomb was opened, the Soviets invaded the country and treasures went missing. In 2003 they were located in a vault within the presidential palace and put on display. The works of art from the tomb were amazing and in very good shape. They included gold belts, gold crowns, and gold jewelry of every sort. Everything inlaid with lapus lazuli, rubies and other precious stones.

As part of the whole Afghan theme, there was a screening of the film Kandahar the day we saw the exhibit. Reviewing that film would require another blog post, but suffice it to say it was an excellent film that you can get on DVD.

The Afghan exhibit at the AsianArt Museum in SF is on until January 25. Remember that the first Sunday of the month is a free day at the museum.