Tajikistan, in the land of rivers of gold

From October 20, 2021 to January 10, 2022 at the National Museum of Asian Arts-Guimet

By its strategic location on the passageways and conquest between the Middle East, the ancient world of the steppes, the Indian subcontinent and the oases of Chinese Central Asia, Tajikistan has been at the heart of trade networks since ancient times. .

Bouterolle adorned with a winged aquatic deity (ichthyocentauresse) holding an oar, 1st half of the 2nd century BC. AD, Takht-i Sangin, temple of the Oxus, ivory © National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan

The prehistoric remains, in particular those of the archaeological site of Sarazm (the first site in the country to have been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site) remind us that Tajikistan was a hub of exchanges since prehistoric times, as well as an important center of metallurgy from the end of the XNUMXth millennium BC. J.-C.

The contributions of the peoples of the steppes and then of the Achaemenids will be followed, in the first centuries preceding the Christian era, by the presence of Hellenized populations, as illustrated by several sets of gold, silver and bronze coins, as well as a large number of remains of the temple of the Oxus at Takht-i Sangin.

The monumental remains of Pendjikent, Kukh-i Surkh or Bundjika, for their part, bear witness to the prosperity of the Sogdiana region in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, when the Sogdians, traders from Asia established as far as China and in Southeast Asia, have also opened up to outside influences. At the same time, the sites of Adjina tepa and Hisht tepa show us the implantation of Buddhism in the east of the country, by the monks walking along the trade routes.

The exhibition will end with the establishment of the Samanid dynasty and the introduction of Islam to the region, as illustrated by the remains of the sites of Hulbuk or Sayod, and important monetary treasures.

The exhibition benefits from important and exceptional loans, notably from the National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan and the National Museum of Tajikistan, from the British Museum, for works coming from the Temple of the Oxus, and from the National Library of France, which will accompany pieces from the collections of the National Museum of Asian Arts - Guimet.