THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART STORE OFFERS FINE JEWELRY COLLECTION TO ACCOMPANY THE EXHIBITION AFGHANISTAN: HIDDEN TREASURES

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART STORE OFFERS
FINE JEWELRY COLLECTION TO ACCOMPANY THE EXHIBITION
AFGHANISTAN: HIDDEN TREASURES FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, KABUL

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is pleased to present a new jewelry collection developed especially to complement the summer exhibition Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, on view from June 23 through September 20, 2009.

Ancient Afghanistan—located at the crossroads of major trade routes, where it attracted invading armies and nomadic migrations—was home to some of the most complex, rich, and original civilizations on the continent of Asia. Its diverse cultures gave rise to distinctive styles of art from the Bronze Age into the Kushan period. The Museum’s exhibition features works of art from four archaeological sites, among them Tillya Tepe (“Hill of Gold”) in northern Afghanistan, where some 21,000 gold artifacts were unearthed from nomadic tombs more than two thousand years old. The objects in this so-called Golden Hoard of Bactria, including extraordinary turquoise-encrusted gold jewelry and ornaments, are nothing short of breathtaking, both for their design and for the light they shine on the lives of the ancient people they once adorned. Although locally made, the jewelry found at the site displays a fascinating blend of Greek, Near Eastern, Indian, Chinese as well as nomadic imagery.

In connection with the exhibition, the Metropolitan Museum and the National Geographic Society have collaborated with Gurhan Orhan, international jewelry designer and master goldsmith, who works both in New York and in Turkey, to create a collection of fine gold jewelry adapted from the exhibition’s rich treasury of artifacts from the National Museum in Kabul. Gurhan employs the traditional technique of the early goldsmiths: fortifying hollow jewelry inside with natural elements such as grain, wood, or sand. His workmanship and attention to detail enable him to create the strong, lightweight, museum-quality jewelry for which he is known.

For the Hidden Treasures Collection, Gurhan has focused his talents on developing a group of very special pieces in his signature 24-karat gold and a variety of semiprecious stones that echo the arts of the ancient world. Inspired by the traditional shapes seen in the original gold jewelry and ornaments on exhibition, often inlaid with turquoise either singly or in combination with other semiprecious stones, Gurhan’s adaptations are made with lapis lazuli, turquoise, and carnelian―evoking the colors and stones used by the ancient craftsmen. "This exquisite jewelry reflects both the elegant craftsmanship of Afghanistan's ancient art and the rich traditions of contemporary Afghan culture. The beautifully designed pieces were inspired by the extraordinary artifacts on display in the exhibition Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul," said Shamim Jawad, founder of the Ayenda Foundation and wife of Afghan Ambassador to the United States, Said Jawad.

The Museum will offer a limited assortment of elaborate necklaces, pendants, earrings, bangles, and rings—approximately thirty designs ranging in price from $350 to $25,000—at the exhibition shop when Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul opens to the public on June 23, 2009.

The Hidden Treasures Collection is produced under license for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in cooperation with the National Geographic Society. Proceeds from the sale of this merchandise supports these organizations and the National Museum, Kabul.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been engaged in the sale of art-related merchandise and publications since its founding in 1870. The purpose of The Met Store is to stimulate appreciation for and advance knowledge of art through product merchandising, while generating operating income to support the Museum’s educational programs and its collection, preservation, study, and exhibition of art.

The exhibition is made possible in part by Raymond and Beverly Sackler and the National Endowment for the Arts.

It was organized by the National Geographic Society and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

The exhibition is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.