For years, historians and archaeologists believed Afghanistan's ancient treasures had been destroyed by civil war.
But in 2003 it was revealed that thousands of priceless artefacts had been hidden from the Taliban in secret bank vaults by a small group of courageous staff from the National Museum in Kabul.
These treasures are some of the only remaining artefacts from ancient Afghanistan and visitors to the Art Gallery of NSW will have the rare opportunity to view some of them.
The exhibition of about 230 artefacts from archaeological sites along the ancient Silk Road provide a refreshingly fresh perspective of the country.
"The news always introduces Afghanistan like `the land of terrorism, the land of al-Qaida, bombings, explosions, killing, everything'," said the director of the National Museum in Kabul, Dr Omara Khan Masoudi, in Sydney to open the exhibition.
"But as I know this exhibition can play a key role in introducing the other face of Afghanistan."
Already, more than 1.7 million people around the world have seen this exhibition, which has been held in more than 20 major institutions including museums in the USA and Europe.
"As I know around two million people have already visited this exhibition in their country and they know Afghanistan is not only the land of terrorism.
"This country has a really ancient civilisation, we had artefacts that are up to 60,000 years old."
The National Museum, which was bombed, set on fire and looted over several years, was "a really huge and rich museum", Dr Masoudi said.
"Unfortunately we lost 70 per cent of our artefacts during the civil war, from the end of 1992 to the end of 1994.
"But I'm really happy that with the help of the international community, we have around 9000 pieces which were returned back from different countries."
Afghanistan: hidden treasures from the National Museum, highlights the cultural diversity of the country that has been called the crossroads of Asia, said Michael Brand, director of the Art Gallery of NSW.
Afghanistan was at the heart of the Silk Road, the trading route travelled by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Marco Polo, linking ancient Iran, Central Asia, India and China, and the more distant cultures of Greece and Rome, he explained.
Organised by the National Geographic Society, it features gold jewellery, bronze and stone sculptures, ivories, painted Roman glassware and other ancient works of art, ranging in date from 2200 BC to the second century AD.
One of the highlights is a lavish golden crown dating from the first century AD.
The headdress of hammered gold leaf, which conveniently folds for travel, was discovered in the late 1970s in one of the graves of six wealthy nomads at a site called the Hill of Gold (Tillya Tepe) in northern Afghanistan.
*Afghanistan: hidden treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, is on at the Art Gallery of NSW until June 15. Prices: Adult $10, concession $8, member $7, family (2 adults, up to 3 kids) $28. Free for children under 5. To buy tickets: artgallery.nsw.gov.au
