Pavilion of Footprint Gathers Art Treasures Around the World

Pavilion of Footprint

The Pavilion is located at Zone D of Shanghai World Expo and includes three exhibition halls: "City’s Origin," "Growing City" and "Urban Wisdom." The theme of the Pavilion is “tracing the origins of cities and the evolution footprints of human beings in the dynamic and interactive relationship with cities and environment.

Overseas Exhibits: 330 Pieces of Art on Display

Pavilion of Footprint often provides the visitors with a very different experience, 330 pieces of borrowed art and antiques, 90% exhibited in Shanghai for the first time, adds another gorgeous flower to the brocade of Shanghai World Expo.

During the last four years, Chen Xiejun, director of Shanghai Museum and chief-designer of theme interpretation for World Expo, had paid visits to almost all world-known museums in Europe, presenting to them the great significance of World Expo to China in the form of PPT. Eventually, he got the permissions of borrowing 330 pieces of treasures from Decorative Arts Museum, Rodin Museum, Prado Museum, Sofia Art Center, British Museum, V&A Museum, etc.

“What impressed me most is that when we requested for permission to borrow seven pieces of Rodin sculpture, they gladly agreed. ‘The Thinker’, ‘Balzac’, ‘The Kiss’, how precious these art works are!” Long as time past, Chen still felt quite excited when talking about it.

An oil painting painted in 1852 reflecting the grand opening ceremony London First World Expo in 1851, one of the representative treasures of V&A Museum, is so precious that even only reproduction has been displayed in that museum. Rather touchingly, to show the support to Shang World Expo, V&A Museum lent the original painting to China.

“Without all those friends’ help, there would be no such brilliant exhibition.” Chen’s voice filled with the gratitude.

Domestic Exhibits: Private Collectors Offer Collections

Domestic private collectors also make great contributions to Shanghai World Expo. Chen told us, Li Jianzhong, generally known as “the awaker of ancient buildings”, offered five historic mansions with carved beams and painted rafters for this exhibition from his over 200 collections.

Also exhibited are reproductions of China’s largest group of Chinese Serial Bells, ancient bells of varying sizes, from Hubei Museum. Musicians have been performing graceful melodies composed according to the music books of Tang Dynasty (618-907BC). 

Exhibition: Tailored Showcases for Treasures

To protect various kinds of art treasures exhibited in the Pavilion, all showcases with different temperatures and moistures are tailored to the specific exhibits and the cultural relics are monitored from three levels: big, medium and small environments.

Another Great Event: Heritage Experts to Gather in Shanghai Next Month

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) will hold its 22nd General Conference from November 7 to 12 at the Expo Center. At that time, about 3,200 museum diretors, heritage experts and museum researchers from 100-plus countries will gather in Pavilion of Footprint and World Expo Museum. This grand cultural event will further promote the progress of museums in China. 
Chen told us, by the end of 22nd ICOM General Conference, hundreds of borrowed treasures would be sent homewards in turn.