KARACHI, Oct 9: Various artifacts on display in different National Museum galleries were affected by the recent rains as the rainwater seeped through the walls and ceiling exposing the dilapidated condition of the building.
The National Museum is a repository of precious cultural heritage of the country and the building required some immediate attention of the authorities concerned.
According to the sources, the ethnology gallery was the worst affected where various artifacts — including Baloch costume, clothes and shoes — were damaged during rains.
The showcases and the display panels which were already in dilapidated condition deteriorated further.
The sources said that the staff had immediately shifted the affected artifacts to the museum’s conservation laboratory but the restoration process was continuing at a snail’s pace due to shortage of technical staff.
The laboratory did not even have a properly trained textile conservationist. The sources said that a few years back the Ghilaf (cover) of Khana-i-Ka’aba was sent to the museum by the federal government for restoration in the laboratory.
However, it was sent to drycleaners, where it was damaged in the cleaning process.
As one enters the museum building it presents a look of a warehouse as a lot of furniture has been dumped into it after the department’s head office was relocated to Islamabad sometime back.
Over 70,000 publications of the department, which earlier were kept at the head office in Karachi, have also been brought into the museum, which already faces shortage of space, the sources added.
The sources said that the museum building was severely infested with termite and the relocated furniture would soon be damaged with the termite and destroyed.
Due to termite attack, the Quran Gallery was closed down. However, sources said, the authorities took notice of media reports regarding the closure of Quran Gallery and directed the national museum to prepare a project to carryout the anti-termite operation.
Even the furniture in the recently constructed auditorium for educational services of the museum has been damaged by termites.
The museum had though decided to handover the auditorium to another department, it dropped the idea in the backdrop of termite situation, sources said.
