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Modern solution for ancient masterpiece
A luxury king-size high-tech display case will be installed in the Forbidden City over three days to enable the first-ever exhibition of China's "Mona Lisa" from October 10. The priceless painting, "Qingming Shanghe Tu" or "Riverside Scene at the Qingming Festival," was a masterpiece by Zhang Zeduan from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). With a length almost 30 times that of the Mona Lisa, the large silk scroll stretches for about 16 metres, depicting 648 human figures, 96 animals and 122 houses. "It has never been exhibited in full spread before, because of the lack of a suitable and safe display case," said Li Guomeng, a staff member at the Palace Museum. However, the painting will make its full size debut when the museum celebrates its 80th anniversary, thanks to a colossal high-tech case made by scientists at Beijing University of Technology. Sixteen metres long and weighing more than five tons, the display case is the largest and heaviest in the world and costs 2 million yuan (US$247,000). It employs for the first time an energy storage technology that keeps the inner temperature between 16 C and 20 C. "We use a type of material that accumulates energy in the daytime and release it at night," said Professor Ma Chongfang, the leading scientist of the university's college of environmental and energy engineering. And instead of water, an inert liquid called fluorocarbon fills between the layers of the "sandwich" glass around the painting to regulate the temperature, as well as to provide better security. "If the case breaks, the liquid will not damage the painting. However, water would damage it," Ma explained, adding that the heavy glass is bullet-proof. It is the first time in the world that fluorocarbon, usually used in cooling, has been applied to a display case. "The case will be filled with nitrogen, with the oxygen content under 0.5 per cent, below the prescribed US standard of 2 per cent," Ma added. The application of the technologies is to fight against the unfavourable conditions of the Forbidden City. "Unlike most museums, like the Louvre for example, which are well equipped with advanced technologies, the Forbidden City is made of wood. This enables good ventilation, but is disadvantageous for the preservation of old goods," Ma said. An automated lighting facility and a heat pump, which can reduce the energy consumption by 60 per cent, will also be used. The museum's Li Guomeng said the painting will be displayed in the high-tech case until the end of the year, maybe longer. "I think it's better for the painting to stay in the custom-tailored case for good," he added.
(China Daily 09/13/2005 page2)
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