Wednesday, 22nd March 2006 (3943 views)

An ancient gold pendant is among the historical pieces touring the world as part of the British Museum's "Treasures of the World's Cultures" travelling exhibit, the Shanghai Daily reports.

"Treasures . . ." is currently at the Capital Museum in Beijing, where 272 of the British Museum's ancient artefacts are on show to the public.

The items include a gold pendant featuring Aphrodite and Eros that dates back more than 2,000 years, as well as a statute of Dionysos and a 3,000-year-old mummy.

The collection is provoking some controversy, with some people arguing that the Chinese artefacts housed by the British Museum should be returned to China.

But the Capital Museum's curator, Guo Xiaoling, said: "It's not a bad thing for the artefacts, if they are well preserved, to be in the British Museum, since the artefacts are the cultural heritage of all human beings."

Of the touring exhibit, which will be in Beijing until June 5th, he said: "Each of the 272 items is a masterpiece from the British Museum's vast collections and together they demonstrate the long history of human civilisation worldwide.

"The two and a half month exhibition will give Chinese people an opportunity to enjoy the collection of a world class museum without going abroad."

 

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