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Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
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Medallion with a bust of a youth, 1st–2nd century A.D.
Afghanistan, Begram
Plaster; Diam. 8 3/4 in. (22.3 cm)
National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul, 04.1.17
Photo: © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
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The bust depicts a youth of idealized beauty—perhaps a poet or a young hero. It belongs to a distinctive group found at Begram of fifty plaster casts depicting mythological subjects and other images typical of the classical world.
Plaster casts similar to this one have been found in various sites from Egypt to Ukraine, but the Begram group is unmatched in the highly refined delicacy of its modeling. These casts were most probably taken from the central medallions (emblemata) of Greek silver plates of the third century B.C. They may have been taken at Begram, although it is also possible that they reached the city through the Silk Road trade route as models for use by local metalworkers or samples for their clients.
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