Kabul Survivors: antiquities from Kushan, early Buddhism, and early Islam

Aug 28-30

SANTRI MIDDLE EAST MUSEUM FOR THE CLASSIC ARTS
JL. Panjenengan Sinten Km 5
JAKARTA 34210

Kabul Museum is the national museum of Afghanistan. It is a two-story building located in the historic city of Kabul and was built in 1922.

Its collection had earlier been one of the most important in Central Asia. Its collection was once one of the finest in Central Asia with over 100,000 items dated back several millennia.

The museum was founded in the 1920s by King Amanullah in the Darul Aman area. In 1973, a Danish Architect was hired to design a new building for the museum, but the plans were never carried out due to political instability. In 1994, due to a lack of security, the Ministry of Information and Culture of President Rabbani's government ordered that the 71 museum staff begin moving the inventory to Kabul Hotel in order to rescue them from further rocketing and shelling.

On 12th March, 1994, the museum, which had been used as a military base, was struck by rocket fire and largely destroyed. In August and September 1996 the museum was ransacked during the rule of the Taliban. The remaining materials were at that time temporarily moved to the Kabul Hotel.

In 2003, the international community invested US$350,000 to refurbish the building. It was re-inaugurated on September 29, 2004.

Fortunately, many of the most precious objects had been sealed in metal boxes and removed for safety and were recovered and inventoried in 2004. Many treasures of ivory are stored there, as are antiquities from Kushan, early Buddhism, and early Islam.

JakArt secretariat: Jln. Lebak Bulus II / 20 A, Cilandak – Jakarta 12430, INDONESIA
Tel/ fax: + 62-21-75907687, Tel: + 62-21-70830742, email: proseni@indosat.net.id