Wayne Eastep standing by his photograph of the Tien Shan mountain range in Kazakhstan. The Tien Shan are also know as the “Celestial Mountains.” The print is at the entrance to the exhibit “Nomads and Networks” at the Freer | Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.
Documentary photographer Wayne Eastep next to his print of a Steppe horse in the steppes of southern Kazakhstan. The print is part of the “Nomads & Networks” exhibit at the Arthur Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Nomads and Networks: The ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan
August 11- November 12, 2012
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Asian Art Museum of the Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C.
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- This small, sacred bronze-cast Lampion was used to burn oil and incense. A squatting horseman wears a caftan and helmet-like hat. A moveable horse figure with a bridle and plaited mane has a hole in its back for a candle or a torch. The dish is 25.5 centimeters (10 inches) in diameter and 18 centimeters (7 inches) high. It dates from the 4th to 3rd centuries B.C.
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- This headband of gold from the 2nd century B.C. is inlaid with Turquoise, Amandine and carved wood. Called the Kargalin Diadem, it was found in the grave of a Shaman believed to be Female. It is decorated with animals, and the central portion, which has been lost, is believed to be a tree of life. It was discovered in the mountains at Kargalin at an altitude of 2,500 meters (8,200 feet). Central State Museum, Almaty, Kazakhstan
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- This cast copper cauldron with ram’s head legs dated from the 5th to 3rd centuries B.C. it was found in 1912 in the Semirechye area. It stands 58.5 centimeters high (23 inches). It is 31.5 centimeters (12 inches) deep and 52 centimeters (20 inches) in diameter. Cauldrons such as this werer used to cook the meat of sacrificial animals, or at the start of seasonal events such as the spring festival of Nauriz. Central State Museum, Almaty, Kazkhstan
Artifacts in the exhibition. Images from THE SOUL OF KAZAKHSTAN.
Wayne Eastep with Dana Masalimova, Third Secretary, Embassy of the Republic of Kazkahstan and William C. Veale, Executive Director U.S. – Kazakhstan Business Association at the opening of “Nomads & Networks.” Arthur Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.
The Exhibition has been organized by the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University in collaboration with:
Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Multifunctional Scientific-Analytical and Humanitarian-Educational State Enterprise “Nazarbayev Center.” Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
A. Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology of the Republic of Kazakhstan Museum of Archaeology of the Republic of Kazakhstan
The exhibition was made possible through support of the Leon Levy Foundation.
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