Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
From the minute I walked in I could tell this would be good.
I had heard about the treasures tucked away in the Presidential palace by museum workers during the turmoil caused by the Taliban. However, I had assumed like most people that the majority of artefacts housed in the National Museum of Kabul had been blown to smithereens. I’m so glad this was not the case, for what was on show at Melbourne Museum was truly impressive. Not only because of the sheer amount of intricate gold jewellery and accessories, or the wide range of materials from various ends of the Silk road; but because of the exhibition design itself.
Upon entering the exhibition I sat and watched an 8 minute documentary about the discovery of the artefacts from the different sites in Afghanistan and the large range of collection material housed in the National Museum of Kabul. I don’t know what recognition the museum workers who saved these priceless items have received – but if they hadn’t the treasures would either be crushed or have disappeared on the black market and be lost forever.
From the introductory theatre, I then entered the ‘Silk Road Overview’ room which is rather self explanatory. It gave a good introduction to the next four rooms which were divided into four different historic sites and the artefects excavated or related to that location – Tepe Fullol, Al Khanum, Tilya Tepe and Begram. Apart from the objects themselves, what really impressed me was the lighting, the interpretation material, the layout and the audio-visual content. It was actually quite hard to fault it! If I was to suggest one thing, it would be that perhaps more interactive material would have assisted with the younger generation.. but apart from that it was truly superb.
As far as exhibition design goes, it is definitely the best that I have seen in a while. I left feeling excited about the prospects of obtaining more exhibition work and maybe someday being involved with such an exhibition like this. Thank you to National Geographic and partners for bringing it to Melbourne Museum!
little ostraca 