Germany returns two millennia old Afghan sculpture
Germany this week returned an ancient pre-Islamic sculpture looted during Afghanistan's civil war, giving hope to Kabul's cultural mavens that the rest of its stolen treasures will also make their way home. Eight figures, one missing a torso and others without noses, make up the 30 cm high limestone antiquity from the second century AD, a reminder of Afghanistan's rich classical past as a confluence of cultures on the crossroads of Asia.
"This is a masterpiece ... I am optimistic that in the future we will get the other artifacts back," said Omara Khan Massoudi, the director of Afghanistan's National Museum, which housed the sculpture before it was stolen. (Reuters)
