Chinese cultural artifacts that are in Europe go back, digitally, to China

Share
Loy Soo Choon (Amber Digital Solutions) explains the process used for the 3D reconstruction

Loy Soo Choon (Amber Digital Solutions) explains the process used for the 3D reconstruction.

The idea is actually very simple. Many museums and institutions in Europe hold Chinese collections including artifacts and potteries, that hardly most of Chinese people could ever see. Now digital technologies can help, through very advanced 3D reconstructions to be used for virtual and travelling exhibitions that will bring the Chinese cultural artifacts held in Europe back home as 3D objects.

This is an initiative of the technological branch of Chasen Sino-Sin and related company Amber Digital, sponsored by an important group of Chinese corporations and enterprises, that are seeking in Europe for the museums and institutions that hold Chinese collection to offer them a zero-cost, advanced 3D digitization service.

Company Promoter, well known and trusted player in the European landscape of digital cultural heritage, is supporting the operation as cultural mediator.

It is a very recent news the signature of the agreement protocol with the Hallwyl Museum in Stockholm for the digitization of its Chinese collection, to be done in spring 2014.

Zhao Feng (CEO of Amber Digital Solutions), Antonella Fresa (Director of Promoter srl), Åsa Marnell (Head of collections of the Hallwyl museum) and Karin Nilsson (Head of digital resources of the Hallwyl museum).

Zhao Feng (CEO of Amber Digital Solutions), Antonella Fresa (Director of Promoter srl), Åsa Marnell (Head of collections of the Hallwyl museum) and Karin Nilsson (Head of digital resources of the Hallwyl museum).

The phisical artifacts will never move from their place while the Chinese technicians and engineers, in cooperation with in-site curators,  will digitize them. When the 3D scanning is complete, the Chinese experts will reproduce the full texture of the 3D model. The result is a perfect 3D digital reproduction of the original artifact, ready to be used for digital exhibitions and even 3D printing to reproduce physical copies of the originals to accompany the digital exhibitions or to be on sale in the museum shops.

The concept and exchange is very simple and plain: the museum keeps the full property of the digital objects for any purpose and exploitation, while the Chinese company is licensed to the re-use the 3D models in China for educational and research purposes, and for virtual exhibitions.

explanaitions

Heli Haapasalo (Director of the Hallwyl museum), Åsa Marnell (Head of collections of the Hallwyl museum), Zhao Feng (CEO of the Amber Digital Solutions) follow with interest the presentation about the 3D solution by Loy Soo Choon (Amber Digital Solutions).

It is a win-win agreement: from one hand, it is very convenient  for the museum, which will not pay for the digitization service; from the other hand it is an opportunity for the Chinese partners who will be able to show and to study artifacts of their culture otherwise no more accessible in their country.

Discussion is ongoing with other Swedish institutions that have Chinese holdings, but of course this initiative is not limited to Sweden and it is expected to be enlarged to other European cultural institutions in the near future.

 

Visit the chasen Showcase

Leave a Reply


Related Articles

3D exhibition: the mysterious Liao Dynasty of Inner Mongolia
For the first time in Singapore, China's archaeological findings unveil the mysterious tomb of the Liao Dynasty in the Tu Er Ji Mountains. This significant discovery represents the Khitans' influence and prominence in Inner Mongolia. Embark on an exciting journey through a 3D digital exhibition of cultural relis back to the past and discover the wonderful culture and history of one of the most important lost dynasties in Chinese History: the Liao Dynasty.
High resolution 3D digital imaging in China
As digital technology evolves, 3D data is increasingly preferred as a method of preserving cultural heritage artifacts. It provides an easy way to get in touch with them and significantly reduces the need for physical storage space, offering to museums a portable and accessible platform to exchange information and to researchers the possibility to easily browse and review the materials.
Art exhibibition in Athens "Impressions of Greece": how young Chinese people see us
An exhibition entitled "Impressions of Greece" was inaugurated on 10th July in Maroussi district of Athens hosted at the Hellenic Center for Ceramic Art. It showcases the works of 8 young artists from China, students of Forward Arts in Beijing, aged between 4 and 18 years. The exhibition includes watercolors, sketches, oil painting and ceramics created during a cultural tour if 10 days in Greece. The group of students, accompanied by the School Directors, were touring in characteris...
PREFORMA hands-on sessions in Europe
During May 2017, successful hands-on sessions and workshops have been organised by PREFORMA in several places to explain to the participants what does conformance checking mean, why is file format validation so important in long-term digital preservation, how to create their own policy profiles and how to download, install, configure and use the conformance checker to analyse their files.