Exhibition at National Museum shows efforts to save heritage from shadows

A small replica of an Iraqi Lamassu statue, 3D-printed versions of Roman glass bottles, and the meticulous restoration of a Malian manuscript are among the displays at a new exhibition highlighting international efforts to protect cultural heritage.

Salvaged from the Shadows, Protecting Cultural Heritage, which opened Thursday at the National Museum of China in Beijing, showcases the work of the Geneva-based International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas.

Founded in 2017 in response to the destruction of cultural heritage in recent decades, the alliance has supported some 450 projects worldwide aimed at sustainable development and peace building, according to Bariza Khiari, chair of the ALIPH Foundation Board. China was one of the first countries to join the organization.

The exhibition sheds light on the alliance's partnerships with governments and professionals to safeguard cultural heritage threatened by conflict and climate change.

One example is the restoration of dozens of glass artifacts from the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods housed at the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut. They were shattered during the port blast that rocked the Lebanese capital in August 2020.

The Mosul Museum in Iraq also benefited from the alliance's support. The exhibition features 3D-printed fragments of a statue of Lamassu, the winged lion god, which was destroyed by the Islamic State group in 2015.

The alliance's work extends beyond physical objects, encompassing traditional music, dance, techniques and crafts. The exhibition highlights the organization's efforts to train local communities, providing them with skills and employment opportunities.

Photos and videos showcase local people participating in restoration projects and the ways these projects connect them to their heritage. A video from 2020 features young people who helped restore a palatial 19th-century house in Beirut, learning traditional Lebanese architecture techniques like painting, lime plastering and tiling.

"These people are the stewards of cultural heritage," said Zhu Xiaoyun, a curator at the National Museum. "They are the first victims when it is destroyed, and also they are among the first to protect it."

The exhibition opened ahead of China's annual Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, which falls on Saturday. The theme for 2024 is "protecting cultural heritage, passing on civilization".

China held its first Cultural and Natural Heritage Day in 2006. Celebrated on the second Saturday of June, it aims to raise the public's awareness of the need to protect tangible and intangible heritage.