Phantom Rei(g)ns
Knowledge of the Ancients
Barkat Ali Islamia Hall, Lahore, 2024
Atmosphere Ceramic Residency, IVS, 2024
Barkat Ali Islamia Hall, Lahore
Knowledge of the Ancients by Foundation Art Divvy, Collatoral Event for Lahore Biennale 2024.
Ceramic horse head, glazed and salt fired (hollow from inside)
40.64 cm or 16 inches in width
27.94 cm or 11 inches in height
9 kg weight
24.15 by 24.15 cm or
9.5 x 9.5 inches
Measurements are according to the longest and widest points
Ceramic horse, glazed and salt fired
24.15 x 24.15 cm or 9.5 x 9.5 inches.
Salt firing results from the Atmosphere Ceramic Residency, Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture.
What does it mean to unharness or to unburden oneself of a legacy?
Perhaps the Avestan word “avanghana” can provide some answers to this question: Avanghana can be translated to mean ‘’un-harnessing’’, but more importantly, it is used as a metaphor by the prophet Zarathustra, in the Gathas to describe a state of peace, at the end of the day. *
Not too long ago, I came across etymological explanations of Avestan terms such as avanghana with other toponyms—‘’Hapta Hendava’’, for instance, is Avestan for ‘’Hapta Hindu’’, the 15th land listed in the first fargard (chapter) of the Vendidad, a Zoroastrian liturgical compendium, which begins by identifying the 16 lands created by Ahura Mazda. Hapta Hind as a name, is evidently attributed to the present Indo-Gangetic plains and draws a clear parallel with “Sapta Sindhu”—the land of the seven rivers in the Sanskrit Rigveda. Hapta Hind and Sapta Sindhu are by enlarge, accepted to be the lands watered by the River Indus today and these ancient scriptures, may very well be some of the earliest references to Punjab and Sindh. An interesting contradiction arises however, within the research. The Lake Balkhash of Kazakhstan, surrounded by mountains, is also fed by seven rivers and is the legendary enclave of ancient Russia’s Lake Semirechye. The region poses a very likely connection between the steppes of Central Asia and Zoroastrian literature, particularly with descriptive emphasis placed on harsh, cold temperatures, short days, long nights, and most unusual, horse riding metaphors in Avestan. In fact, chariot racing, breeding, and saddling the horse, are key visuals evoked in the Avestan Gathas, drawing attention towards Zarathustra’s nomadic life, which heavily relied on animals as a way of life. The horse is today still, somewhat sacred in the highlands of Central Asia —a horse is never without its owner, just as a man can never be without a horse.
While the symbolic value in understanding the horse in literature, can lead us to repurpose the word, ‘’avanghana‘’ by un-hersting ourselves of the doctrine present in singular interpretations on geography and religion, we could also dissuade ourselves of prototypes, to travel through history itself, unburdened and unfeigned.
*The Place and Time of Zarathustra by James R. Russell in The Zoroastrian Tapestry Edited by Pheroza J. Godrej and Firoza Punthakey Mistree”
This body of work was produced as part of the Atmosphere Ceramic Residency at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, curated by Sadia Salim
Exhibited at Barkat Ali Islamia Hall, Lahore for Knowledge of the Ancients
Curated by Foundation Art Divvy, a cp;;atoral event for Lahore Biennale 2024