Afghan season, the exhibition at the Musée Guimet

To mark the centenary of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan (DAFA), the Musée Guimet is presenting an exhibition dedicated to this century of archaeological discoveries and relations with Afghanistan, entitled Saison Afghane, from October 26, 2022 to February 6, 2023.

Afghan art in the spotlight! The Musée Guimet invites you to discover its latest exhibition, Saison Afghane, from October 26, 2022 to February 6, 2023. The exhibition is part of the centenary celebrations of the DAFA, the French Archaeological Delegation to Afghanistan, and is dedicated to a century of discoveries and relations with Afghanistan.

An archaeological delegation with an eventful history... Founded in 1922, the DAFA set itself the goal of modernizing the then young independent state of Afghanistan, while maintaining control over its heritage and national identity. Between 1979 and 2001, the country entered a period of conflict, bringing archaeological research to a halt, culminating in the departure of the DAFA from Kabul in 1982 and the looting and other destruction of works recalling the country's history. Research did not resume until 2003, with the reopening of the DAFA in Kabul.

The exhibition offers"a panorama of the numerous research projects carried out" in Afghanistan,"while highlighting the importance of the country's archaeological heritage and museum collections, as well as its built heritage, which is still under latent threat following the return to power of the Taliban on August 15, 2021", through the sharing of works and other objects from the excavations. The exhibition also retraces"the conditions of Afghanistan's emergence against the backdrop of the 'Great Game' and a rapidly changing Middle East in the aftermath of the First World War".

ICONEM has also produced two films especially for the occasion, about the Jam minaret, a 12th-century tower listed as aUNESCO World Heritage Site, and the site of Mes Aynak, a mining town with several Buddhist monasteries dating from the 3rd to the 8th centuries. As part of this season, visitors can also enjoy the exhibition Sur le fil: textile creations by Afghan women. The exhibition looks back at the work of the Zarif Design fashion house, founded in 2005, which is helping to revive"know-how and skills that are in danger of disappearing, even though they represent a genuine technical and artistic culture drawing on thousands of years of history".

Shall we drop in for a visit, folks?

Afghan Season, the exhibition at the Musée Guimet

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