Following hard on the heels of the National History Museum's (國立歷史博物館) coup in bringing the terra-cotta warriors to Taiwan, the museum has produced another first. Starting tomorrow, an important exhibition of 299 Mesopotamian artifacts on loan from the Louvre in Paris will open to the public.
These exhibits, some over 8,000 years old, span the whole period of Mesopotamian civilization, taking in the rise and fall of the great cultures of Akad, Suma and Babylon through to the more familiar period in which the Persian empire stood as the major threat to the survival of classical Greece. One of the most beautiful and colorful exhibits, a more than life-size relief of a Persianarcher in glazed tiles, dates from this latter period (522-486BC).
The Louvre collection, one of the most significant achievements of French archaeology, first went on display in 1847 and has previously never left Paris. Only the necessity of renovations to the display area led to the agreement for the collection to go on tour, visiting Taipei in addition to two locations in Japan.
The exhibits give profound insight into the lives and thoughts of people in ancient times, and also reveal many curious facets of popular biblical stories, such as the Garden of Eden and Noah's ark.
Exhibition notes
What Aurora of Human Civilization - The Mesopotamian Collection from the Louvre
When March 24-July 15. Closed Monday.
Where National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), 49 Nanhai Rd., Taipei (北市南海路49號)
Tickets NT$150. Call 3343-3133 ext. 7025 for ticket information.
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