Center to provide better care for nation’s relics
Print Edition
WORK is under way in Beijing on the development of a national center for the protection of historical and cultural relics, Beijing Morning Post reported.
The decision to build the facility was taken following a three-year study that found that of the nearly 14.7 million antiques held by 2,380 museums around the country, 7.4 million had either been damaged or were falling into disrepair.
The research also found that the nation’s museums allocate just 5 percent of their annual budgets to the protection and care of the items in their possession.
Shan Jixiang, curator of Beijing’s Palace Museum, said that while there is always a huge outcry when artefacts are stolen or damaged by staff, no one seems to notice that many collections are simply rotting away because they are not being cared for properly.
The protection of ancient relics and artefacts is an ongoing process that requires technical support and research, but there is not enough investment in this area, Shan said.
In response, the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City and home to China’s emperors for about 500 years, has begun the construction of the 13,000-square-meter center.
Once completed, it will be open to the public and form the first phase of a nationwide historical and cultural relic protection base, Shan said.
In recent years there have been several cases of precious items at the Palace Museum being damaged or stolen. The incidents highlight the need for much tighter security, better training and improved preservation methods.
In August 2011, carelessness by workers at the museum led to three items dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) being damaged.
Before that, in May 2011, a thief stole nine jewelry boxes, insured for about 410,000 yuan (US$67,650), that were on loan from Liangyicang, a private collection in Hong Kong.
Six of the boxes have since been recovered, but three, worth about 150,000 yuan, are still missing.
Similar robberies in 2004 and 2009 deprived the museum of three other ancient artefacts.
The Shanghai Museum declined to comment on the findings of the recent study.
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