Collections

The Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph collection contains photographs, postcards, drawings, and pages of text for an exhibition about Dr. Richard Edward’s Bamiyan photographs of 1968. Most photographs depict archaeological remains from the Begram and Hadda regions of Afghanistan, along with photographs of artifacts from the Kabul Museum. The objects represented in these photographs include sculptures of animals, people, and religious or mythological figures, as well as architectural fragments, medallions, and pottery vessels, made from materials such as glass, stucco, ivory, bronze, schist, and limestone. The Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph collection is part of the Islamic Art Archives collection.

The Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph collection is composed of approximately 1250 photographs, depicting Afghanistan sculptures, statues, figural reliefs, pottery, and other archaeological remains, the majority of which are from the Kabul Museum in Afghanistan. The photographs were largely taken by Dr. Suresh Vasant while other photographers included Dr. Richard Edrwards, Dr. Walter Spink, Dr. John M. Rosenfield, and Horst P. Schastok. Dr. Richard Edwards took his photographs of Bamiyan in 1968, while the others were likely taken by Dr. Suresh Vasant in 1971. There are approximately 64 photographs and 23 postcards from other institutions. Archaeological remains from the Hadda and Begram regions of Afghanistan comprise the majority of the collection, although there are many photographs of the Bamiyan (approx. 119 photographs) and Fauladi (25 photographs) regions, and of objects from the regions Mundigak (approx. 34 photographs), Fondukistan (approx. 23 photographs) and Surkh Kotal (approx. 38 photographs). The photographs highlight objects made of stucco, terracotta, glass, ivory, stone, and schist, and include sculptures of animals, people, and religious or mythological figures, as well as architectural fragments, medallions, and pottery vessels. General views of archaeological sites such as Bamiyan and Fauladi are also depicted in the photographs.The Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph collection is part of the Islamic Art Archives collection.

The Islamic Art Archives is composed of six collections, including those of Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu, Arthur Upham Pope, Donald Newton Wilber, Oleg Grabar, Marianna Shreve Simpson, and the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photographs Collection. The collection also includes photographic prints of the pages of the illustrated manuscripts Maqamat and Shah Nama, and additional photographs of Islamic architecture.

The Islamic Art Archives is composed of six collections, including those of Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu, Arthur Upham Pope, Donald Newton Wilber, Oleg Grabar, Marianna Shreve Simpson, and the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph. The Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu collection documents the Islamic and pre-Islamic art and architecture of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Spain. Arthur Upham Pope focused primarily on Persian architecture and monuments, but his collection also includes photographs of Persian ceramics, textiles, and illustrated manuscripts. Wilber, Pope's colleague, also primarily studied Iranian monuments but he focused on those built during the Achaemenid and Sasanian empires. Oleg Grabar's work focused on the architecture of the seventh and eighth centuries of the Umayyad dynasty, the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian illustrated manuscripts and ornaments, and contemporary Islamic architecture. On the other hand, the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph collection depicts Afghanistan sculptures, statues, figural reliefs, pottery, and other archaeological remains, the majority of which are from the Kabul Museum in Afghanistan. Finally, Dr. Simpson's collection documents her work and her notes from her study of Islamic manuscripts around the world. The collection also includes photographic prints of the pages of the illustrated manuscripts Maqamat and Shah Nama.

The Southeast Asian Art Archive is composed of seven collections, including the Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive (SAAF), the Breezewood Collection, the Ajanta Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Collection, the Borobudur Collection, and the American Council for Southeast Asian Art (ACSAA) Collection. The collection contains photographs and slides of Southeast Asian monuments, sculptures, Indian rock-cut architecture, and more.

The Southeast Asian Art Archive is composed of seven smaller collections, including the Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive, the Breezewood Collection, the Ajanta Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Collection, the Borobudur Collection, and the American Council for Southeast Asian Art Collection (ACSAA). The Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive contains photographs, collected by John Adams Thierry, that document sculptures, monuments, and archaeological sites in Cambodia, Java, and Thailand. Many of these sculptures and monuments were vandalized, damaged, insensitively restored, or destroyed. The Breezewood Collection focuses on the art and architecture of Thailand, but also includes examples of sculptures, decorative arts, ceramics, and paintings from Burma, Cambodia, India, and Indonesia. The Ajanta Caves Collection contains the research work of Walter Spink and photographically documents 29 of the 31 rock-cut caves. The photographs range from panoramic views of the Ajanta complex to detailed photographs of the façades, porches, courts, shrines, and interiors. The Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection further documents the research of Walter Spink by looking at rock-cut architecture of other caves throughout India, including Aurangabad, Badami, Bagh, Bedse, Bhaja, Elephanta, Ellora, Kanheri, and others. The Walter Spink Collection contains additional research of the rock-cut architecture of temples, shrines, and monuments throughout India. The Borobudur Collection documents the Buddhist monument of Borobudur, found in Central Java, in detail. The last collection is the American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Slide Distribution Collection. This collection contains a wide array of materials depicting Southern Asian art and architecture.