The Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) has loaned an extensive collection of Gandhara art masterpieces to China for an exhibition in Beijing.
Pakistani dignitaries and prominent officials are expected to join the event, which is said to create new possibilities for collaboration between China and Pakistan in the sectors of museums and cultural heritage.
The artifacts, comprising 173 pieces from museums in Peshawar, Dir, Swat, Hund, Karachi, Taxila, and Islamabad, will be on display at the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, Beijing starting 15 February. The exhibition is scheduled to continue for three months.
The archaeological departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab offered additional support and loaned some of their greatest Gandhara artifacts. The Islamabad Museum has also loaned 10 items, including a gold Greek bowl from the 2nd century.
The Palace Museum, being one of China’s largest institutions for cultural heritage promotion and preservation, is expected to offer assistance and support to its Pakistani peers in areas such as archaeological research and monument conservation.
The material, being presented in the exhibition, includes life-size and miniature statues of Buddha portraying his birth, early palace life, and eras following enlightenment, as well as Greek antiquities unearthed in the Swat, Gandhara, and Taxila valleys from the 2nd to the 5th centuries AD.
The exhibition is part of Pakistan and China’s 70th anniversary of fraternal and diplomatic ties, and it aims to promote Pakistan’s cultural heritage on a global scale.
Pakistan last loaned such a significant collection of ancient relics in 2008, when 250 historical pieces were provided to Germany and afterward displayed in Switzerland and France before arriving back in Pakistan in 2011. This time, Beijing had requested 250 items, but the Lahore Museum could not contribute due to administrative reasons.