Gandhara artefacts: Authenticity check: of 395, 161 are real-ics

KARACHI:

Less than half of the artefacts seized in Karachi in July have been found to be originals.

Only 161 of the 395 sculptures are genuine and the rest are replicas, according to the team of experts at the National Museum, who examined the sculptures confiscated in a raid.

The relics are around 1,500 to 2,000 years old and are worth billions of rupees in the international market, archaeologists claim.

“The examination was a challenging process. The original relics, dating to the Gandhara civilisation, are just 161,” confirmed Qasim Ali Qasim, the archaeology director of the Sindh culture department.

Meetings are being held on how and when to put the original masterpieces on display at the National Museum, insiders told Daily Express. The public exhibition may take up to two more months.

The sculptures were seized by the police from a container truck. About 298 of them were said to be related to the Gandhara art, while two depicted Lord Shiva. For several days, the figures were kept at a police station, but were later moved to the National Museum.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2012.