Begram ivories

The Begram ivories are a series of over a thousand decorative inlays, carved from ivory and bone and formerly attached to wooden furniture, excavated in the 1930s in Begram, Afghanistan. They are rare and important exemplars of Afghan and Indian art of the 1st or 2nd centuries AD, attesting to the cosmopolitan tastes and patronage of local dynasts, the sophistication of contemporary craftsmanship, and to the ancient trade in luxury goods.

Begram ivories

The Begram ivories are a series of over a thousand decorative inlays, carved from ivory and bone and formerly attached to wooden furniture, excavated in the 1930s in Begram, Afghanistan. They are rare and important exemplars of Afghan and Indian art of the 1st or 2nd centuries AD, attesting to the cosmopolitan tastes and patronage of local dynasts, the sophistication of contemporary craftsmanship, and to the ancient trade in luxury goods.