With its inaugural exhibition centred around the theme of the Maritime Silk Road – the historic sea trade route that connected Asia to the Middle East and Europe – the new Poly MGM Museum is set to debut on 2 November at MGM Macau.
The city’s newest museum is the result of a collaboration between the gaming concessionaire and Poly Culture Group Corporation – the art and culture arm of a sprawling state-owned conglomerate that has businesses ranging from real estate to resource investment. On display are nearly 230 artefacts and artworks from some 20 national museums and galleries, brought together by a curation team hailing from mainland China, Italy, and France.
Pieces featured in the current exhibition range from historical documents and artefacts retrieved from shipwrecks like navigation tools, bronze pieces, and porcelain.
Highlights on display include four of the twelve zodiac heads from Beijing’s Old Summer Palace, which were looted from Beijing by the Anglo-French allied forces in 1860 (seven have since been returned).
[See more: The Hong Kong-Macao Visual Art Biennale is now underway]
Another is a tapestry named Aeneas and Anchises, depicting scenes from the Trojan War and part of a set of tapestries believed to have been created for the first governor of Macao Francisco Mascarenhas.
The design of the museum features interactive display cabinets and several elements inspired by Chinese palatial architecture, such as intricate craft columns crafted with cloisonné enamel, as well as caisson ceilings.
“We see this museum as a bridge connecting the different cultures along the Belt and Road route, that’s why in this inaugural exhibition we have the Maritime Silk Road” MGM’s senior vice president of arts and culture, Cristina Wai, told Macao News during a media preview of the new museum on Tuesday.
Poly MGM Museum’s debut exhibition will be running until September next year, with daily guided tours in Cantonese and Mandarin. Tours in other languages may be arranged with a two-day advance request.
