A grand cultural relics exhibition, entitled The Doomsday of Pompeii -- Tales from the Eruption, is on at the Beijing World Art Museum until May 7.

The show displays 483 pieces of precious cultural relics excavated from under the ruins of the ancient Italian city, sponsored by the Beijing World Art Museum, Italian Campania Regional Tourist and the Cultural Relics Bureau.

The exhibition hall is shrouded in mysterious and solemn colors and presents a kind of tragic atmosphere. The spotlights, which cast concentrated beams on the exhibits, set off the brilliance of the history of the once prosperous city. The entrance, which is designed as an arch with quadrilateral pillars in the architectural style of ancient Rome, leads audiences back in time to 79 AD.

Marble statues, frescos, paintings, jewellery, accessories, weapons, bronzeware, daily utensils, restored models of figures, the exhibits show the social life and art of the ancient Roman Empire. They narrate the condensed history of the tragic day of August 24, 79 AD.

Pompeii, a bustling city in ancient Rome, was deeply buried by volcanic ash when the Vesuvius Volcano erupted. The disappeared city has been excavated in the last 200 years under successive archaeological explorations. In 1997, the Pompeii Archaeological Zone was listed as a World Cultural Heritage.

The exhibition is arranged in accordance to the street scenes and buildings of the ancient city, in which the related objects were unearthed.

A Marble statue of Hera greets visitors at the entrance. Measuring 154 centimeters high, the elegant goddess stands on a platform in the classic S-shaped posture. Clad in a shawl and clothes of ancient Roman style, the statue is exquisitely executed. The facial features, the pleats of the shawl, the accessories she wears and even the hair are meticulously carved.

Past the goddess, visitors are led to blocks of halls divided in accordance to their restored architectures.

In the Villa of Diomedes, there are fresco paintings with four tavern scenes, armbands with hemispheres and gold rings with double gemstones. The Alley of Thesmus houses a gold necklace with emeralds, gold ivy leaf chain and silver shell cups. Bronze Lares statuettes and a statuette of Mercury are found in The House of Oppius Gratus. The Inn of Salvius hides the armor, including bronze shoulder-guards, bronze shields and ivory daggers.

The exhibition has been held in Italy, Belgium, Germany, Canada and the United States. After the Beijing exposure, the show will continue to the Xihu Fine Arts Museum in East China's Zhejiang Province from June 1 to August 31.

Text by Wu Liping and photos by Jiang Dong

30-50 yuan. 9am-5pm, until May 7. Beijing World Art Museum, China Millennium Monument, A9 Fuxinglu, Haidian District. 6851-3322.

(China Daily 03/01/2007 page20)