Daily Times

In a major cultural exchange, three rare artefacts from Pakistan are being showcased at the “Asian Bronze Exhibition” at the Netherlands’ Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, one of the world’s leading museums.

The Embassy of Pakistan, The Hague took the initiative by facilitating the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Rijksmuseum-Amsterdam, and the Department of Archeology and Museums, National Heritage and Culture Division, Government of Pakistan, which formed the basis for the borrowing of 3 rare artefacts for the exhibition from National Museum, Karachi.

This exhibition is a unique celebration of 4000 years of Asian bronze. Ranging from prehistoric objects to contemporary artworks, the exhibition will bring together Bronze masterpieces from various Asian Countries, including China, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nepal and South Korea.

The three objects from Pakistan show the thousands of years old heritage and underscore the country’s significant contribution to the global cultural landscape.

The three artefacts from Karachi Museum, carefully selected for their historical and artistic significance, will provide a unique glimpse into Pakistan’s ancient civilisation. These include: 1) more than 4000 years old tiny bronze female figure wearing bangles, it is at time called the other Mohenjodaro girl, 2) a mirror made of bronze from 2500 BC ; 3) and a big sculpture of Hindu deity Brahma estimated to be from sixth century.

All the 3 objects are thousands of years old and bring to Europe the old history and civilisation of Pakistan.

This is the first time that such rare Pakistani artefacts are on display in the Netherlands and after a long time in Europe. In fact it it is the first time these three objects are on display in a European museum.

At the opening ceremony, Taco Dibbits Director General of Rijksmuseum thanked Pakistan and other countries contributing to the exhibition. He said that the female figure from Mohenjodaro was probably the oldest piece in the exhibition. Ambassador Dewi Vande Weerd, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador for International Cultural Cooperation, also spoke and appreciated the cooperation developed by the museum to organize the exhibition.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Suljuk Mustansar Tarar, Ambassador Muhammad Ayub Director General for Europe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives of the archaeology department attended the opening ceremony.

In his remarks, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Suljuk Mustansar Tarar said the display of rare Pakistani artefacts would help build bridges and promote better understanding among the Dutch and wider European audience about Pakistan’s civilisational context and contribution to the development of different art and crafts.