Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) A total of 271 artifacts collected by the British Museum, valued at more than NT$5 billion, will be exhibited in the National Palace Museum (NPM) from Feb. 4 to May 27, the NPM announced in a press conference Friday.
The exhibition, "Treasures of the World's Cultures: The British Museum after 250 years", brings these historical relics from the U.K. to Taiwan for the first time and will be a part of celebrations marking the reopening of the NPM, which is entering its 80th year, NPM Director Lin Mun-lee said.
"We are expecting a very exciting week. Following the Grand View, this exhibition will be one of the most important events for the NPM this year," Lin said. Grand View is an exhibition of painting, calligraphy and Ju Ware of the Northern Sung Dynasty.
The NPM has designed three different visiting plans with time spans of 30, 60 and 120 minutes to cover the top 10, 20 and 42 recommended artifacts, which include items from different eras and regions of pre-history, Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, early Europe, Medieval Europe and the Renaissance. The display area,
which is located in the Library Building, will be separated into 13 zones, according to the time period and place of origin.
Among the ten most notable items are The Unlucky Mummy wooden mummy-board, Queen Puabe's Lyre, Statuette of Hermes, Bust of the Emperor Hadrian, Bust of Antinous, and a cast gold pectoral of a chief or priest in South America.
The exhibition is important for the British Museum not only because it takes place in Taiwan for the first time, but also because the displayed items reflect humanity's achievements from both the past and present, said Andrew Burnett, Deputy Director of the British Museum.
Starting from Feb. 3, the NPM will also be holding its first NPM Outdoors arts festival. The festival has invited world-renowned performing groups, such as Japanese national treasure "Noh Theatre, " and Ming Hwa Yuan Taiwanese Opera Troupe, the Ju Percussion Group and the U-Theatre Group.
Noh Theatre master Umewaka Rokuro will share with the public a suspenseful performance of The Lion and widely-acclaimed Concubine Yang, produced by samisen master Yoshizumi Kosayo.
The performances will be held outdoors and are open to the public free of charge to allow visitors the opportunity to come face-to-face with these famous performing groups.