Today’s Enlightening Entertainment will be presented in Dari, English, French, and German, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Welcome, beauty loving viewers to the final part of our 3-part program about the Bactrian gold of Afghanistan and other incredible works of art that are on display for the world to admire. “Afghanistan: Surviving Treasures,” includes legendary treasures from the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul and has been exhibited most recently in Bonn, Germany.

A testimony of various cultures that met in Afghanistan can be found in the collection known as the “Begram Treasure.” The Begram Treasure dates to the 1st and early 2nd century AD and gives insight into the early history of Afghanistan’s northern region, the Hindu Kush. An important part of this treasure is the glassware, bronze pieces, and stucco medallions.

That painted goblet that I showed you, beautiful. It actually has scenes of Egyptian life on it, the Egyptian Nile. And the chemical analysis of the glass proves that that piece of glass, which was one of many, was actually made in Alexandra in Egypt. Lacquered bowls from China, glass that probably came by sea to India and then were trans-shipped up to Begram, and whereto after that we certainly don’t know.

Some of the glass vessels were made of colorless glass while others were of transparent blue glass. This glassware may be regarded as the oldest surviving examples of Greek-Roman glass art. There are even fish-shaped flasks. An interesting object is the “Jug in the shape of a kinnari.” A kinnari in Indian mythology is a hybrid being, part woman, part bird, and the traditional ideal of female beauty and grace.

Glass was something that was a very interesting trade commodity to China. So, this would have been a major portal for that. And the type of goods that we have in that merchant’s warehouse, and you’ll see them in that exhibition, very small glasses, very fine pieces, these were all sort of sumptuous pieces. Because when you’re trading things so far, you want to trade the most valuable things.

One special piece is the so called “Round basin decorated with fish.”

There was one piece that was mysterious to us. We didn’t know exactly what it is. It’s a tray made out of bronze about 20 centimeters in diameter decorated with fish, fish swimming all the way around, and the fish have fins that wiggle if you move it. You could pour water on it and the fish’s fins move back and forth. It must have simply been an amusement for people 2,000 years ago, a sort of a game for them to enjoy and to look at. And I think about, isn’t that interesting people have been amused by games even 2,000 years ago.

Remarkably, during the restoration of that bronze piece, an extraordinary, hardly visible multicolor painting was discovered on the surface. There has been no other example of an ancient color-painted bronze in the whole world up till now. Part of the Begram finds are also some plaster casts. They depict mainly mythological subjects, but also other Hellenistic images.

The plaster casts served as drafts for artists or as examples for potential buyers, perhaps even both. The “Medallion, depicting Endymion asleep” shows Endymion, king of Elis, visited by Selene accompanied by Eros. Another depiction of a mythological scene is the medallion, “Ganymede and the eagle of Zeus.”

The treasures that are shown to the world in this exhibition are invaluable, not only for the Afghan people but for the whole world. They have been kept during difficult times in some safes in the Afghan Central Bank thanks to the heroic efforts of the staff of the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul. Dr. Hiebert recalled the moment when it was clear that the treasure was safe.

The expression on the faces of all those Afghans changed, when all of a sudden they realized, they themselves had saved their own national treasures. It was a glorious moment. It was the moment that all to Afghanistan had been waiting for, it’s amazing. So I want to show you some of these objects, obviously you can see them upstairs, but there are some things that you should know about these. These are exceptional objects.

After it was known that the works of art still existed and were safe, the idea emerged to present this exhibition to the world. But first, a lot of work had to be done. Mr. Pierre Cambon, chief curator of Museé Guimet in Paris, France recalls:

The mounting was done in Paris within a very short time, restoration, catalog, installation. At the same time, the exhibition was an opportunity to restore some items of the Kabul Museum, to analyze the stones of Tillya Tepe. So actually, the exhibition shows that paradoxically, the most fragile objects, the most valuable, most delicate pieces can survive, and moreover, gradually, step by step, we can rebuild.

Finally now, I think the exhibition, the project which from the beginning has been supported at the highest level in Afghanistan, shows that things are possible; that the cultural dimension is really important in itself, for the foreigner and for the country itself, and it is possible to rebuild, to build the future.

The artifacts of this exhibition represent a special kind of mélange of art from East and West and more, while also reflecting the individual style of Afghan artisans and artists.

What I want to see and get help from all these friendly nations all around the world, to help us to rebuild our culture. This way we would like to give a culture awareness to the people of Afghanistan, bring kids, children to the museum, explain their cultural heritage. So it has an effect of bringing peace and have the people with you.

So without cooperation of the people you can’t do anything. So this way I’m hoping to unite people and have their actual contribution to culture, and just explain it to them, that this beautiful culture is belongs to you. It is for the Afghan people.

We’ll continue our exploration of this remarkable exhibit of Afghan art when we return. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Welcome back to our program about Afghanistan’s treasures, a selected collection from the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul that has amazed people around the world. As it reads at the entrance of the exhibition in Kabul, “A nation stays alive, when its culture stays alive.”

I think the exhibition is actually a nice testimony of that, art is an important dimension in life, in fact, in the past as well as in the present time. Forgetting culture would be a loss of this dimension that in fact makes our life more human. And art is also heritage, a tradition. It is also a cultural identity.

I think this dimension is truly important as a matter of fact. But the exhibition by itself shows that already in our past, whether it’s in Begram where the pieces were imported, or in Tillya Tepe where it involves locally made pieces, in fact typical of the art styles of the East, art is a natural part of everyday life.

Next, Mr. Omar Khan Massoudi, director of the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul, talked about the work of archaeologists and historians and what meaning their work has for us.

This is the best way, this is the best documentation, which they put it in front of the historian, because the historian always writes it down to find the truth of the social society. These artifacts can put a green light about the each part of the economical point, and also social life, and also about the religious point of view, etc.

But let me tell you one thing, that without the help of the Parliament of Afghanistan, without the heroic team of the archaeological committee, this exhibition here and in the rest of the world was not possible. They have worked together. We would like to share this with the whole world, that we are giving it out of a culture of tolerance to a culture of peace.

Afghanistan with its cultural artifacts is a testimony about transcending borders and strengthening a constructive identity. His Excellency Omar S. Sultan, Deputy Minister of Cultural Affairs of Afghanistan, shared:

I believe culture and art is going to unite back the Afghans and they will find their identity, because, don’t forget this, Afghanistan is very, very, very proud of their cultural heritage. So I believe that’s something that we can do, unite back through art, through culture, unite them.

In organizing this exhibition, many nations worked together hand in hand to bring this treasure to the worldwide audience. They have a shared dream: humankind in peace and harmony.

And I always hope, our culture, our civilization makes connections between our country and all countries, because the artifacts do not belong to Afghanistan alone, but instead those artifacts are for all countries in the world. That is very important.

My message to all humankind, particularly on the issue of protection of cultural assets of nations, is that they need to have contiguous relationships. They should attempt to protect and save cultural assets. The world is tied to one another as a civilizational circle.

May we appreciate all the marvelous treasures of Afghanistan as we also become more aware of our world’s interconnectedness and kinship through this special exhibition. We thank all people and organizations involved in protecting and presenting these art works to further cultural dialog and exchange, including the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and The Bundeskunsthalle (Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany).

Our special thanks also go to our interview guests who shared their views and stories: His Excellency Omar S. Sultan, Deputy Minister of Cultural Affairs of Afghanistan; Mr. Omar Khan Massoudi, Director of the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul; Professor Nazar Mohammad Azizi, Director General for Kushan-Research, Afghanistan;
Mr. Shirazuddin Saifi, Director of the Restoration Department of the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul; Mr. Pierre Cambon, chief curator of Musée Guimet in Paris, France; Dr. Robert Fleck, Director of the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany; and Dr. Fredrik Hiebert, archeologist with the National Geographic Society, USA. Through endeavors such as yours, may all the world enjoy beauty, peace, and harmony.

Friendly viewers, thank you for your pleasant company on this program. Now, please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television for Words of Wisdom, after Noteworthy News. Wishing you wonderful discoveries on your inner and outer journeys.

For more information about the “Afghanistan: Surviving Treasures” exhibition in Bonn, Germany lasting through October 3, please visit