Chinese, Italian museums hold exhibition on civilizations that formed by great rivers

HANGZHOU, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The "Civilizations of the Great Rivers" exhibition, which is the result of collaboration between Chinese and Italian cultural institutions, is being held in Ningbo Museum in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Approximately 200 cultural relics are on display in the exhibition, including 108 cultural artifacts from four Italian museums, and artifacts from 13 Chinese cultural institutions.

Items on show include seals and pottery from the Euphrates-Tigris river basin; mummified animals and painted wooden coffins from ancient Egypt; painted Harappan pottery from the Indus River Valley; and colorful pottery, jade articles, bronze ware and porcelain dating back to early Chinese history from the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin.

A painted middle coffin from the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, has captivated numerous visitors.

Xu Qin, who works at Ningbo Museum and organized the exhibition, explained that ancient Egyptian coffins consisted of an outer coffin, a middle coffin and an inner coffin.

"Although the middle coffin may not be as splendid as the outer one, the exquisite and colorful painting on its surface still offers us a glimpse into the ancient Egyptians' beliefs about life and death," she said.

"By displaying artifacts from different civilizations that formed by great rivers in one exhibition, we hope to help people understand more of the rise and fall, the continuity and rupture, and the communication and mutual learning of the these civilizations, provoking deep reflection on the eternal topics of human development and coexistence," Xu said.

Cultural and archaeological communities in China and Italy have maintained close communication. Ningbo Museum has successfully collaborated with several Italian museums to hold exhibitions in recent years.