November, 18th-19th 2022 | Paris

ARTS ET PATRIMOINE DE L’AFGHANISTAN

Cent ans de recherches archéologiques 1922-2022

Org. S. Aube (CNRS/CeRMI), N. Engel (MNAAG) and Ph. Marquis (DAFA)

This colloquium organised by Musée national des arts asiatiques - Guimet, Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan and Fondation Inalco was part of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the DAFA (1922–). The event brought together the Afghan, American, French, Italian, German and Japanese archaeological teams who have been working in Afghanistan over the last century, on sites ranging from prehistoric to modern times. It highlighted the complementary nature of their fieldwork, as well as the vitality of archaeological research on Afghanistan and the determination to look to the future and commit to preserving Afghan cultural heritage, despite the difficulties posed by the country’s political instability.

Several members of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan participated to the conference and debate. Anna Filigenzi and Roberta Giunta presented the multifaceted work of the Italian research team in the paper “Fouilles, documentation, études : Les travaux de la Mission Archéologique Italienne”. Martina Massullo dealt with the efforts for the preservation and musealisation of the archaeological material from Ghazni, which over time have resulted in the setting up of museums in Afghanistan as well as virtual museums (“Étude et valorisation des données archéologiques de Ghazni. Du musée de Rawza au projet d’un musée virtuel”). Viola Allegranzi discussed the importance of epigraphy for the understanding of the history of Ghazni and, more largely, of Medieval Afghanistan (“Le rôle des inscriptions dans la compréhension du site archéologique de Ghazni”). The entire programme is available here.

Alongside the colloquium, two exhibitions were set up as part of the “Afghan season” at Musée Guimet: Afghanistan, ombres et legends, putting on display archaeological objects and numerous photographs from the photographic archives of the French and Italian missions in Afghanistan; Sur le fil. Création textile des femmes afghanes, on the female creators of textile art who keep the craft traditions of Afghanistan alive. Moreover, showcases were installed for the display and sale of contemporary miniatures created by the female students of Nazir Rahguzar, an artist and lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Herat, who found refuge in France after the Taliban seizure of power thanks to the program “Urgences Afghanistan” (Fondation Inalco and PAUSE), a French emergency reception programme for scientists and artists in exile.