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

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).

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.

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.