Preserve and protect national treasures

Performed by: VAN HOANG - XUAN DUNG

Currently, the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture is preserving and displaying 12 national treasures, including: Tra Kieu Altar, Tra Kieu Apsara Relief, My Son E1 Altar, Ganesha Statue, My Son E1 Brahma Birth Relief, My Son C1 Shiva Statue, Dong Duong Altar, Tara Bodhisattva Statue, Gajasimha Statue, Mam Tower Dragon Statue, Phong Le Dancing Shiva Relief, Uma Chanh Lo Relief.

These are all priceless treasures, whose value cannot be measured and most of them are on display in the museum's exhibition spaces to serve visitors. The Tara Bodhisattva Statue is a particularly rare treasure, with limited display, and is only introduced during important events of the museum and the city.

Foreign tourists visit the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture.

Identifying the protection and safe preservation of treasures as a top priority, the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture arranges for each exhibition room to have security guards on duty 24/7 to ensure that treasures and artifacts are not directly damaged by human impact.

In addition, the police force also coordinates to patrol and protect security and order outside. All exhibition rooms are equipped with surveillance cameras and are monitored 24/7. Fire prevention and fighting are also regularly reviewed by the museum to ensure that the fire fighting system and equipment operate properly.

In addition, the area displaying national treasures is also equipped with glass walls or ropes to create a safe buffer zone between visitors and the treasures, limiting direct contact. At the same time, a warning sign system using intuitive, easy-to-understand symbols is arranged to raise awareness of protecting artifacts for visitors.

Staff of the Cham Sculpture Museum carry out preservation and anti-mold work on artifacts.

Staff of the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture carry out preservation and anti-mold work on artifacts.

Regarding the preservation of artifacts in general and national treasures in particular, the Cham Sculpture Museum currently has 4 staff members specializing in preservation work, all of whom have university degrees in museum studies and have been trained and coached in-depth in preservation work, guided by foreign experts.

For national treasures, the museum currently mainly implements preventive preservation measures, checking artifacts daily to prevent mold and termites; regularly cleaning and wiping the pedestals, ensuring that the treasures are always in the best condition.

In addition, the Cham Sculpture Museum also regularly invites artifact preservation experts to analyze and evaluate national treasures and artifacts to develop plans, processes, and specialized preservation techniques to ensure that the treasures can survive over time.

National artifacts and treasures are regularly inspected and cleaned.

According to Deputy Director of the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture Tran Dinh Ha, the museum plans to recruit more security forces to ensure security at the galleries is always guaranteed.

In the future, if conditions permit, the museum will apply AI technology (RFID tagging) to exhibits on display, including national treasures, to enhance the ability to monitor and protect exhibits, and issue timely warnings if there is any illegal or unusual removal.

In addition, deploying a smart camera system integrated with AI technology, allowing image recognition and real-time behavior analysis. The system is trained to automatically detect abnormal behaviors such as unauthorized intrusion, leaving foreign objects, or inappropriate interactions with artifacts.

Regarding preservation, the museum continues to maintain the current preventive preservation measures, strengthen inspection and supervision, especially during the renovation and upgrading phase of the museum. At the same time, prioritize funding to purchase additional necessary equipment and chemicals to preserve the artifacts currently stored in the warehouse and exhibition rooms.