'Hidden Treasures' Exhibit Closes in San Francisco, Moves to Houston
The critically acclaimed exhibit "Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures of the National Museum, Kabul" closed at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco on January 25 after seeing 115,000 people view the exhibit during its three-month run. The final attendance far exceeded the 60,000 people that were expected to visit the exhibit.
The exhibit features 228 historic artifacts from Afghanistan dating back over 4,000 years, including the famed Bactrian Gold. Originally housed at the National Museum in Kabul, the artifacts were hidden away by regular Afghan citizens prior to the Soviet invasion in 1979. The artifacts and their whereabouts were only revealed in 2003, after the Taliban had been driven from Afghanistan.
Prior to San Francisco, the exhibit was featured at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it attracted 215,000 visitors. It will travel next to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, where it will open to the public on March 1 and remain until May 17. It will close its 18-month U.S. tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City from June 23 to September 20, 2009.
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