Dear colleagues,
During the 7th ICOM ASPAC Assembly in Shanghai from 21-24 October an appeal
has been adopted to assist the museums in Afghanistan and especially the
National Museum (see below).
The director of the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul was a
participant at the meeting and presented a report on the situation in the
National Museum. (At the end of this message a document is included with
background information on the situation of the national museum of
Afghanistan).
Although much help has been pledged, almost nothing has been materialized so
far. A lot of efforts still need to be done and a lot of help is still
needed.
In the appeal a list of short term and long term needs have been identified.
ICOM has promised to raise awareness on the needs of the National Museum by
using its vast network. Posting this message on our ICOM-L is one of the
means to do so.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could convey any willingness of
assistance to the museum by sending a message to ICOM indicating the kind of
support you could offer.
Sincerely,
Manus Brinkman
Secretary General
__________________________________________________
APPEAL TO ASSIST THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFGHANISTAN
The 7th General Assembly of ICOM-ASPAC, convened at the Shanghai Museum on
Thursday, October 24, 2002 ;
Having been informed about the current dramatic situation of the National
Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul ;
Having been informed that the short term needs of this museum are
-- to rehabilitate the current building
-- to train the staff
-- to receive essential resources;
and the long term needs are
-- to move the museum to a new location
-- to develop a protection mechanism for Afghanistan's cultural heritage
-- to develop a mechanism for the repatriation of stolen collections
-- to establish a sustainable training scheme for cultural heritage
professionals ;
Urges ICOM to actively support the National Museum of Afghanistan in its
efforts to address those needs and in securing the necessary support.
The 7th Regional Assembly of the Asia Pacific Organization, International
Council of Museum, notes with great pleasure the interest expressed by many
countries to rehabilitate the National Museum in Kabul, Afghanistan.
However, the Assembly notes with distress that essential pledges made by
governments have not yet been honoured. The National Museum can still not
function at a basic level. This is a dramatic situation with the winter
rapidly approaching.
Hence, the Assembly urges all governments that have made those pledges to
honour them as soon as possible.
---------------------------------------------
An Overview of the Situation of the National Museum in Afghanistan
by Jim Williams
UNESCO Field Office Kabul
Background
Situated at an important junction on the ancient Silk Roads,
Afghanistan has been the crossroads of cultures since time immemorial. Its
unique cultural heritage reflects a history that is marked by the complex
indigenous encounter with Achaemenid Persia, China, Alexandrian Greece,
Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. The collections representing this rich and
unique cultural heritage were displayed in various museums in the larger
cities of Afghanistan, especially in the National Museum in Kabul.
King Habibullah (1901-1919) brought together collections of wooden
sculptures previously brought from Nuristan by his father King Abdur Rahman,
carpets, silk and wool embroidery, metalwork, manuscripts with miniature
paintings and other luxury objects having belonged to former royal families,
to create the royal collection in his father's former pleasure palace at
Bagh-e Bala. His successor, Amanullah Khan, decided to modernize Afghanistan
and in Kabul he created the suburb of Darulaman, including a European style
museum in what had been the Municipality building, just below his palace.
This museum was inaugurated with the collections from Bagh-e Bala, enriched
with the archaeological finds of the Délégation Archélogique Française en
Afghanistan (DAFA), by his successor, Nadir Khan, in 1931.
The Museum in Darulaman was renovated and enlarged two times, once in the
mid forties and again in the mid seventies. After the political
complications that followed, during the period of Daoud and the Soviet
occupation, the museum suffered from its location in this distant suburb,
which became the frontlines of much fighting. However, the collections were
preserved.
During the years that followed the collapse of the Soviet backed government,
the Kabul museum was the theatre of the looting and destruction that went on
in Afghanistan over the following twelve years. An intensive traffic of
cultural heritage objects developed. The culmination of this traffic
occurred during the occupation of the Taliban, who destroyed anything that
resembled an animate figure and that could not be carried away for sale.
Present situation
The often quoted sign over the museum's entrance door reads, "A nation is
alive, when its culture and history are alive", but the Kabul museum is
today a ghost museum. Objects stolen from the National Museum have shown up
for sale on markets around the world. The museum staff's efforts to preserve
the collections have been, and are today, exemplary, and thanks to their
perseverance, large numbers of objects, although many damaged, are stored at
the museum and in the Ministry of Information and Culture. Despite the
destruction and the looting, the Kabul museum remains today culturally rich
and unique.
Although, international pledges were made to rebuild and rehabilitate the
museum, ten months after the fall of the Taliban and the establishment of a
new government, no work has yet begun on the museum building. Collections
remain stored in precarious situations, and restoration of objects has begun
in bombed out rooms without water or electricity.
As the pledges and promises have yet to give concrete results and no work
has yet begun, UNESCO Kabul has decided to prepare the museum for
winterization, by providing electricity, water and window panes. This will
at least permit the museum staff to continue to work during the deadly cold
of winter, and will protect some of the collections from the rigours of
winter.
The major problem that remains is the lack of a roof over the museum
structure. At present there is only a layer of dried mud "Kah gel", and this
does not protect the collections from infiltrations of water from rain and
snow.
Perspectives
In December 2001, the Greek Government announced that it was
interested in helping in the restoration of the National Museum in Kabul.
This was indeed "good news". This promise was reiterated at the
International Seminar on the Preservation of Afghanistan's Cultural
Heritage, organized by the Ministry of Information and Culture with the
support of UNESCO from 27 and 29 May 2002.
While in Greece, during the month of August, this promise became more
tangible during the meeting with the architect, Manolis Mavrakis, who has
been named by the Greek Representative in Kabul, Michael Maniatis to
rehabilitate the museum building.
During discussions with Mr Mavrakis, what became apparent was that
he had been very surprised to learn from Mr. Omara Khana Masoudi, the
Director of the Kabul Museum, that the museum was in a dangerous area, and
that he was not in favour of it being reconstructed at the same site. In
fact, the area is no longer serviced by public transport, which is a
tremendous burden on the museum staff. The isolation of the museum, in the
far suburb of Darulaman, was one of the factors that contributed to its
deteriorated state. If the museum had been in the city centre, it would not
have experienced so much looting, as neighbours would have seen the looters
and protected their cultural heritage.
There has been a plan, for over two decades, to build a new museum. However,
today the land that was allotted to the Ministry of Information and Culture
for this purpose is situated near the Arg (citadel) and is today a
no-man's-land, occupied by the Ministry of Defence. This location is not
suitable for a museum, as it is exposed to great risks.
The ideal site for a future museum seems to be the vicinity of the National
Archives. In fact, the Ministry of Information and Culture owns the land
adjacent to the National Archives. If a new museum was to be built here, it
would become a museum complex, sharing a common restoration laboratory, for
both manuscripts and other museum objects. In the past conflict, the
Archives were not really damaged. The location was very much protected from
both missile fire and looting, by the proximity of the mountains and the
local population.
Immediate needs
As the rehabilitation of the present museum has not begun, the
Ministry of Information and Culture with funds from UNESCO is preparing the
building for winterization, by installing electricity, water and window
glazing. The basic and absolute essentials necessary for the museum staff is
to continue working during the winter. The greatest problem for the winter
is the lack of a roof on the museum building. Although the upper floor has
been covered with dried mud (Kah gel), the seepage from rain and snow into
the museum building hinders work and destroys the objects stored there.
Without reconstructing the present building or undertaking the
construction of new national museum, there can be safe storage of cultural
heritage objects, stored in various places around Kabul and in the
provinces. The Ministry of Information and Culture needs the space occupied
by the stored objects for its staff to be able to work. The situation of
storage on the ground floor of the Ministry is very precarious, as was
demonstrated by the recent bomb that exploded just outside, across the
street.
Along with this precariousness of the stored cultural heritage
objects, there is another problem, linked to this one, that of not being
able to take-in the objects coming from excavations. The Minister of Culture
has said that today the number one problem of Afghanistan in the culture
sector is illicit excavation and looting. Fortunately, many objects have
been stopped from leaving the country, but where are they to be kept? If
there was museum space to restore and protect these objects, scientific
archaeological excavation could begin. This would at the same time put an
end to much of the illicit excavation, as it did in Iraq.
It is impossible to speak about the museum without mentioning the
human factor. The National Museum in Kabul has one of the most dedicated
staffs in the country. They have done their utmost, and the seeming
impossible, to save what could be of the museum collections. This dedication
should be repaid, but in fact, the museum staff is in one of the most
precarious situations in the country. This is due to the isolation of the
museum in a far suburb of Kabul, which has no public transportation. Also,
their working conditions in a building without electricity or water were
excruciating, especially during the winter months.
The museum staff has not had the benefit of training and the use of
up-to-date methods of inventory and restoration. For the last two decades,
they have not been in contact with their colleagues around the world and the
exchange of ideas and methodology that goes along with this contact. If the
museum is to continue to attract such dedicated staff, training
opportunities and exchange must be provided. Not only short term training
should be organized for the dedicated staff, but long-term training for the
younger generation must be foreseen and organized, in the near future, in
order to ensure the continuation of quality work in the museum.
The estimates of reconstruction of the Darulaman area range from ten
to twenty years. In the meantime, the museum and the collections must be
rehabilitated and exhibitions organized for the edification of the public.
Education of the younger generation now in Afghanistan, and returning to
Afghanistan, is of the highest importance to the country and to the future
understanding the unique Afghan cultural heritage, which has been shrouded
by the last years of obscurantism.
The Ideal Museum
Kabul today is in search of a cultural direction. Attempts to create
popular cultural manifestations have met with resistance from the more
conservative elements of society. An example, among others, is the musical
concert, which was foreseen for the Nauruz celebration in the Olympic
Stadium, and which was cancelled at the last moment without explanation.
Artists have not found exhibition facilities. There has been much discussion
of the intangible cultural heritage of Afghanistan, but up until now,
popular expressions of art and culture have not been encouraged. The ideal
national museum would become a place of study and artistic expression. There
is need of a museum complex comprising an archaeological, ethnological and
popular museum.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the
archives at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html
|
