Treasures from the Afghanistan National Museum at the Met

It's a cliche to describe Afghanistan as the country where the West meets the East. It's also true. For thousands of years, Afghanistan has been the site of collisions between Europe and Asia, and it has developed its own rich culture out of the mingling of these disparate influences. The staff of the National Museum in Kabul improbably and heroically managed to save many of the most beautiful expressions of that culture through the tumult of Afghanistan's recent past, and many of these artifacts are now on view at the Met. This splendid exhibit, full of gorgeous and affecting objects, speaks to the indispensable role museums play in the preservation of our shared heritage.

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