Wednesday 8 June 2011

Conservation of the Begram Ivories from Afghanistan

And, since we are talking about the wonders of the BM, watch this video where BM conservator Clare Ward talks about the conservation of the Begram ivories (excavated in the 1930s). Great stuff!

The ivories  were part of the National Museum of Afghanistan's collection but went missing during the unrest. They re-emerged in 2010 and have been conserved at the BM. They are on display in "Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World" (until 17 July 201) and will be returned to Afghanistan after the exhibition.  


You can see more videos about the Afghanistan exhibition, including the story of how Afghanistan's treasures were hidden here 

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1 comment:

  1. Iris14 June 2011 at 11:53

    I really enjoyed the Afghan exhibition in the BM and I'm definitely planning on seeing it again before it closes!

    There was in interesting article on the BBC News website yesterday about the ancient Afghan monastery at Mes Aynak that is going to be destroyed by the Chinese mining company.
    I found it especially interesting to see how the American archaeologists emphasized that Afghan's ancient heritage is important for "Developing a sense of Afghan identity and national pride", whereas Omara Khan Massoudi, the director of the Afghan National Museum stressed that "These artefacts do not belong to the country, it's human treasure that belongs to everybody".

    I know the director is most likely saying this in order to gather more international support (and money!) for the preservation of Afghani heritage, but still! It's nice to know that they are once again willing (and feel proud to) share their heritage with the world (like with the current exhibition in the BM). It's a nice break from all the death an mayhem that we nowadays usually associate with Afghanistan, and that reminds us that there's more to the country than news reports about the resurgence of the Taliban, the drugs trade and the inferior position of women.

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