'Pursuing Eternity: Conservation of Museum Collections in China' exhibition opens

The exhibition titled "Pursuing Eternity: Conservation of Museum Collections in China" officially launched on May 18 at the Capital Museum of China in Beijing as one of this year's International Museum Day (IMD) events and in support of the ICOM-CC 19th Triennial Conference.

The exhibition comprises five sections, presenting a selection of important scientific research achievements and representative exhibits from around China. It also details the development process and conservation process for China's museum collections, introduces scientifically driven protective and restoration techniques, shows the latest achievements in the protection of cultural relics in China's museums, and demonstrates the Chinese concept and practice of cultural relic preservation.

More than 50 exhibits from 23 institutions in 10 provinces and cities, including some national treasures, important archaeological discoveries in recent years, and exquisite original recovered items are showcased.

The exhibition strives to strengthen the scientific research and academic resources and comprehensively display the deep integration of technology and artistic expression to create a new-style exhibition recognized by experts and favorable among the public. The exhibition also utilizes augmented reality (AR) technology to realize its interactive displays.

The exhibition will last for three months and run until Aug. 17. During this period, 11 lectures on the conservation of museum collections by well-known experts in the field of cultural relics protection will take place and open to the public. The experts will present their relevant research achievements and highlight related curatorial concepts in an academic but approachable manner.

Major exhibits

Li Chui's restored crown ornaments and clothing accessories

Unearthed from the Tang Dynasty-era tomb of Li Chui in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, these crown ornaments and clothing accessories were collected by the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology. Composed of a large number of scattered pieces of different materials, when they were unearthed, the relics had been poorly preserved and so the restoration work was complex. They were taken to the laboratory for cleaning and then recovered layer by layer. The complex structure was finally completely revealed and restored.

Restored crown ornaments unearthed from Li Chui's tomb [Photo courtesy of the Capital Museum of China]