Ambassador of Qatar to Malaysia H E Fahad bin Mohammed Kafood receiving the artefact from Ambassador of Afghanistan to Malaysia H E Moheb Rahman Spinghar.
Kuala Lumpur: The Embassy of Qatar to Malaysia received yesterday an artefact belonging to the National Museum of Afghanistan that Qatar is responsible for transporting to the Afghan capital Kabul.
The artefact was handed to Ambassador of Qatar to Malaysia H E Fahad bin Mohammed Kafood by Ambassador of Afghanistan to Malaysia H E Moheb Rahman Spinghar, in preparation for its delivery to Kabul, via Doha.
The reason Qatar is taking responsibility of delivering the artefact to Kabul comes from Qatar’s efforts and leadership in protecting and maintaining World Heritage worldwide. The country is a member of the World Heritage Committee, part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) for the period 2021-25.
The artefact is a marble tablet that goes back to the 12th century and was used to adorn the residence of King Mahmud of Ghazni and the royal court of King Mas’ud III of Ghazni (1061-1115).
The tablet displays a narrow band of floral kufic inscriptions on top of an intricate panel of interlaced arabesques and intricate designs.
The piece is one of the earliest examples of the use of Arabic script for pictorial writing purposes in architecture (inspired by the Persian language).
The artefact belongs to the National Museum of Afghanistan but was in the Islamic Arts Museum in Malaysia after it was bought from an English dealer.
