A 3,000-year-old mummy and a 2,100-year-old gold pendant
featuring Aphrodite and Eros will be among the fascinating
antiquities featured at the Beijing exhibition.
Roman, Greek and Egyptian antiquities, many of them thousands of
years old, are coming to China courtesy of the British Museum and
its touring exhibition titled 'Treasures of the World's Cultures'.
The exhibition will open in Beijing on March 18. On Wednesday Guo
Xiaoling, curator of the Capital
Museum, confirmed that 272 items would be on display.
Among the treasures to be exhibited are ancient Egyptian
inscribed tablets and Greek and Roman sculptures and a work tool
which is thought to be the oldest such artifact in the world.
However, no Chinese items which have been collected by British
Museum will be on display in Beijing.
"There is no need to bring Chinese items here," said Jane
Portal, assistant curator of the British Museum.
"The two and a half month exhibition will enable Chinese
audiences an opportunity to enjoy the collection of a world class
museum without going abroad," Guo said.
Five lectures on world history have been arranged as part of the
exhibition. Students studying world history in Beijing's
universities are providing assistance to visitors.
In the exhibition hall, guide Li Xue, is rehearsing her
explanation of how the ancient Egyptian mummies were actually made.
"I have been reciting it for three days," she said excitedly. "It's
my first opportunity today to practice my words alongside the
pieces of work," Li said. She added that tours are free to museum
visitors.
Guo said it was the first large-scale international exhibition
since the newly-built Capital Museum opened last year and it will
make every use of its new equipment and technology. The
sophisticated temperature and humidity controls and the security
systems in the museum would guarantee the safety of the pieces, Guo
added
The 'Treasures of the World's Cultures' collection has been
shown in Japan and the Republic of Korea attracting 1.3 million
visitors during its four city tour of Japan and 600,000 in
Seoul.
The British Museum is planning to hold exhibitions in China in
the future in co-operation with the Palace Museum and the National
Museum of China. The British Museum is also considering showing
Chinese treasures in Britain.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2006)