MLE: Asian Art Museum and the 'Treasures of Afghanistan' exhibit

MLE = Mandatory Local Excursion. We have decided that it is required that at least every 2 weeks we go see something in the local San Francisco area. Museums, natural wonders, unique sightings, and the like.

First up - the Asian Art Museum.

We've been noticing that there are loads of ads around town for the 'Treasures of Afghanistan' exhibit. It closes next weekend before it moves on to other museums, so we thought we'd give it a look.

Naturally, in the special exhibit you can't take pictures. But the website is quite good at explaining what everything is.

Essentially these are treasures that were fortuitously discovered from the 1950s-1970s and then were hidden away in a bank vault that kept them safe from destruction over the past 30 years of wars and general badness in the area. Many of the items are from when Afghanistan was a major crossroads on trading routes - including the Silk Road.

Two thumbs up - if you are in Houston or New York when it visits those cities next, I'd recommend seeing it.

After that, we toured through the rest of the museum, which is also excellent.

A Ming vase, naturally


This is the chair I've decided to be carried in at all times


There were some Tibetan Monks - seemed fitting


Tom next to a big screen. This was in the Korean art section


Some fantastic silk embroidery on a garment. The figure is probably 2 inches tall