In Japan, Afghan mural destroyed by Taliban brought back to life with ‘super clone’

Not a single fragment remains of the seventh-century cave painting demolished in 2001 by the Taliban

Yet a precise replica, the result of a painstaking three-years reproduction, went on display in Tokyo earlier this year

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A replica of a cave painting of a blue Bodhisattva, part of artefacts destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, on display at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:24pm, 17 Nov 2021Updated: 9:15pm, 17 Nov 2021

Japanese researchers have crafted a “super clone” of an Afghan mural destroyed by the Taliban, using a mix of traditional and digital techniques that they hope will salvage the work’s “spirit” for future generations.

Not a single fragment remains of the seventh-century cave painting demolished in 2001 along with two massive Buddha statues and other artefacts in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan valley, sparking global condemnation.

But a precise replica, the result of three years of state-of-the-art reproduction efforts, went on display at a museum in Tokyo in September and October, just weeks after the Taliban returned to power in Kabul.

The site in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan where the statues of Buddha stood before their destruction. Photo: AFP

The mural on the ceiling of a cave near the famous statues depicted a blue Bodhisattva – or someone on the path to becoming a Buddha.

At six metres long and three metres high (20 by 10 feet), the intricate full-size copy has been dubbed a “super clone” by the reproduction team at Tokyo University of the Arts.