Afghanistan. History under a ban
2 October 2001 - 23 December 2001

On 2 October 2001 an exhibition devoted to the millennia-long history of the culture and art of Afghanistan opened at the Cultural Centre of the La Caixa Foundation in Barcelona. Numerous museums and private collectors have contributed to the exhibition. The State Hermitage has provided three works of applied art from the stocks of the Oriental Department. These artefacts are among the masterpieces of the museum collection: a silver jug and dish from the 11th century and the Herat Kettle of 1163 made of bronze inlaid with silver and copper.

The exhibition contains a variety of material representing different periods in the history of the country: Buddhist sculpture, wall paintings and drawings, works of applied art, books and photographs, jewellery and clothing of the peoples of Afghanistan.

The exhibition will run in Barcelona until 23 December 2001. Later it will move to the exhibition rooms of the Musee Guimet (National Museum of Asiatic Art) in Paris, France.

Kettle
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Vahid, Masud ibn Ahmad an-naqqash
Larger view