Thousands of artefacts collected by the main museum in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai have never been displayed due to the lack of funds and exhibition space.
Huge numbers of objects are kept in the museum's storage
Nguyen Thi Kim Van, director of Gia Lai Museum said they had only six display rooms, but because these rooms were small, they were unable to develop thematic displays.
Gia Lai Museum actually stores a rich treasure-trove of 10,000 items in their collection featuring typical cultures in central highlands such as gongs, drums and wood statues. However, only 2,000 items have been put on display.
Historical artefacts
The museum's employees have tried their best persuade people from donating items instead of allowing them to be sold off to antique hunters. "Now they've just been dumped in storage," an employee said.
Thousands of these objects are beginning to suffer damage due to the lack of proper storage.
Wood statutes
According to Van, whenever there is a cultural event, items are brought out for display. But in the long run, there was hope that the museum will eventually be upgraded with an outdoor exhibition area to attract more visitors and display items.
Artefacts are not being correctly preserved
The VND12 billion (USD545,000) Gia Lai Museum opened in 2009 to welcome the International Gong Festival. The museum displays historical items, natural resources, valuable and rare animals and minerals in the province as well as historical artefacts.
