Tibetan museum establishes digital records of collection

LHASA - Tibet Autonomous Region Museum, located in the regional capital of Lhasa, is digitally cataloging its precious collection.

So far, more than 10,000 cultural relics have been documented, with plans for more to follow suit, a museum official said.

Opened in 1999, it was the first modern museum in southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, and has a collection featuring in excess of 520,000 pieces. Scientific research and archaeological investigation, however, had been held back by the museum's outdated cataloging system.

Basang Paentog, an official with the museum, said the digitalization of the museum's collection began in 2013, when Tibet began a three-year survey of the region's portable cultural relics.

The documentation, he said, included the objects' names, category, dates, texture, size, and preservation conditions, as well as photographs and identification numbers. The updated documentation is expected to help the protection system, he added.

Basang Paentog said documenting thangka paintings was a challenge as it was hard to confirm the style, date and author of some of the pieces. Thangka is a traditional style of Tibetan Buddhist scroll painting.

The museum consulted thangka specialists to ensure the authority of the documents.