Thousands of antiques 'cry for help' in Nghe An Museum

Tien Hung• October 23, 2018 10:48

(Baonghean.vn) - More than 30,000 documents and artifacts of Nghe An Museum have to fight against time in a narrow, old warehouse, not displayed like other museums. Many valuable artifacts even have to be stacked on top of each other due to lack of space, while the preservation work is facing many shortcomings, causing many artifacts to be seriously damaged.

Nghe An Provincial Museum was invested with more than 11 billion VND and completed in 2005. However, because the interior and exterior exhibition project has not been completed after nearly 10 years of launching, this museum has not been able to display regularly to welcome visitors. Also because the project has stalled, the 2nd and 3rd floors of this building have not been used until now, 13 years after completion. Photo: Tien Hung

Meanwhile, more than 32,000 artifacts and documents are being "detained" in the warehouse, which is also the workplace of many museum staff. This building was built more than 20 years ago and has now seriously degraded, affecting the preservation of antiques. Photo: Tien Hung

Due to the tight space, many antiques had to be stacked on top of each other in the warehouse. Photo: Tien Hung

Antiques are scattered on the floor. “The artifacts are costumes that are not hung up for display or framed but only folded in cabinets, so over time they are broken and rotten. Film documents are stuck together. Many metal objects are rusted…”, Ms. Hoang Thi Minh - Head of Inventory and Preservation Department - Nghe An Museum lamented. Many rare embroidered paintings such as Phu Quy Truong Xuan paintings, Phuc Loc Tho paintings, Lien Ap paintings... are also in a similar situation. Photo: Tien Hung

Torn objects containing artifacts. Currently, according to regulations, the preservation of documents and artifacts is carried out in two ways: Preventive preservation, which means slowing down the deterioration process or preventing the risk of damaging artifacts, and therapeutic preservation, which means treating, preserving, and restoring damaged and degraded artifacts by using materials and solvents to directly intervene on the artifacts. However, Nghe An Museum has only been able to carry out simple preventive preservation by opening the warehouse doors every day for ventilation; cleaning and dusting artifacts; using silicagel chemicals and lime powder placed in cabinets and shelves to limit humidity and prevent mold growth.... Photo: Tien Hung

The place where national treasures are kept includes the Nhan Tower relic box, the snake-shaped dagger with an elephant's leg in its mouth, and the elephant-shaped ladle. According to regulations, national treasures must be approved by the Prime Minister before they can be taken out of storage. The Law on Cultural Heritage also clearly states that "national treasures must be protected and preserved under special regimes." In particular, they must be kept in specialized tempered glass cabinets, ensuring appropriate temperature, light, and humidity to maintain the long-term state of the artifacts and must ensure absolute safety, to prevent theft. Photo: Tien Hung

However, currently, the three national treasures in Nghe An still do not have any special protection or preservation regime. They are only kept in normal metal boxes, which do not ensure the necessary factors of temperature, light, humidity, etc. Therefore, the artifacts are all in a state of rust and corrosion. Photo: Tien Hung

Meanwhile, many outdoor artifacts are in a similar situation because the outdoor exhibition project has not been implemented. Some artifacts such as airplanes, rockets, cannons... have been seriously rusted. Photo: Tien Hung

Nghe An Museum currently only has special exhibitions on the first floor of the building. However, most of the visitors are students who come as part of the school's schedule. As for tourists who come to visit on their own, they can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Photo: Tien Hung