Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Thematic Exhibition Room
December 16, 2008 (Tue) - February 8, 2009 (Sun)
Since 1998, the Tokyo National Museum has been organizing annual archaeological exhibitions featuring objects borrowed from local museums as part of its archaeological objects exchange program. This year, exchange has been conducted with the Fukushima Cultural Property Centre, Shirakawa Branch (Mahoron) and Nagano Prefectural Museum of History.
This exhibition features repaired and restoratively reproduced copies of metal objects borrowed from Fukushima, together with objects from the Tokyo National Museum, including restorative copies made during the Meiji to the early Showa period (late 19th - early 20th century), and recently repaired or restored objects and copies. Visitors can make comparisons between restoration as part of repair work, copies made using molds taken from originals (for the purpose of recording the present-day condition of the originals), and restorative copies (which are considerably removed from the originals but are more effective for display).
We hope this exhibition will serve to provide visitors with an opportunity to think about the significance of repair, restoration and reporduction at museums. We would like to express our gratitude to the Fukushima Prefecture Education Commission and other institutions for their cooperation in the realization of this exhibition.