Collection Summary
Since the National Museum of Taiwan History’s (NMTH) preparatory stage, it has been collecting historical relics, constructing the history of Taiwan’s people by preserving their life memories.
The NMTH encourages the public to co-write the history of Taiwan with the museum. Through donations and temporary deposit of people’s cultural relics, it achieves discourse on Taiwan’s history. With a rigorous collection management system, standard storage environment and safety controls we can properly preserve and manage these relics. The museum has collected more than 140,000 items over the years. Through digitization, publication, and exhibition, we allow the general public to make use of our abundant resources.
In terms of our collection policy, besides material evidence that highlights the evolution of Taiwan’s history and culture, objects that reflect the lives of Taiwanese people, artifacts from diverse ethnic groups, and materials with historical research value are all within the scope of collection. At the same time, to adapt to changing trends, the NMTH engages in "contemporary collection.” An important feature of this museum is that it collects materials related to current social issues. In order to implement the role of social innovation, the NMTH provides professional technical consultation and services for collections from all domains, such as assistance in the rescue of cultural assets, low-temperature treatments for artifacts at local cultural centers, and consultations on improving the collection environment. We also take pride in activating collection objects. For example, in 2017, a wooden replica of a sacred rune was returned to Tainan Xingji Temple. In 2018, the Quancheng plaque was returned to Daxi. In 2019, in cooperation with Taichung City Government, the museum rescued building materials from the September 21, 1999 earthquake for reuse by the government’s resource bank. Items returned to Shan Temple in Dongshi District, Taichung City, reverted to their original historical and cultural context, reconnecting local believers with their memories of the temple.
Furthermore, we actively promote appropriate preservation concepts by carrying out a series of activities such as the "Home Antiquities Maintenance Workshop." In 2019, to help market the museum’s preservation concepts, the principles of cultural relicpreservation were published in an easy-to-understand graphic novel "Crazy Cultural Relics - Preserving the Right Way."
In recent years, to explore the development of preservation and conservation technology, we have purchased non-destructive equipments, developed preservation science, and promoted exchanges and cooperation between museums and schools. To broaden research on Taiwan’s cultural relics and establish Taiwan’s cultural particularity and integrity, since 2017, we have been applying to the Ministry of Science and Technology for the "Opening the Door to History: Taiwan's Historical Innovation and Technology Experience Construction Project" to promote scientific preservation of cultural relics. We have also co-organized the “Scientific Inspection of the Museum Collection Workshop" with National Taiwan Museum, and built 3D images of relics for use in exhibitions and educational activities.
Secondly, through the implementation of relevant programs subsidized by the Ministry of Culture, content descriptions and image scans of the collections have been completed, and the status of collection rights clarified. Promoting the disclosure and transparency of collection materials helps achieve the goal of public access to the shared collection. After 2019, in order to strengthen the activation and utilization of the collection, we began using it to develop cultural products, value-added services and other projects, to more efficiently market and promote the collection.
The NMTH endeavors to diversify development, strengthen the collection structure, and upgrade storage equipment. We are also committed to promoting the publicization of collection resources and social innovation. Through the finalization of data, sharing of knowledge, and co-writing of Taiwan’s history through artifacts, the museum has created a new model for the preservation of Taiwan's cultural assets. In the future, we will continue to public of collection resource, research material of cultural relics, optimize collection space, and build storage environment suitable for the preservation of artifacts, in order to better the collections assessable and unify the historical memories of the Taiwanese people.
The NMTH encourages the public to co-write the history of Taiwan with the museum. Through donations and temporary deposit of people’s cultural relics, it achieves discourse on Taiwan’s history. With a rigorous collection management system, standard storage environment and safety controls we can properly preserve and manage these relics. The museum has collected more than 140,000 items over the years. Through digitization, publication, and exhibition, we allow the general public to make use of our abundant resources.
In terms of our collection policy, besides material evidence that highlights the evolution of Taiwan’s history and culture, objects that reflect the lives of Taiwanese people, artifacts from diverse ethnic groups, and materials with historical research value are all within the scope of collection. At the same time, to adapt to changing trends, the NMTH engages in "contemporary collection.” An important feature of this museum is that it collects materials related to current social issues. In order to implement the role of social innovation, the NMTH provides professional technical consultation and services for collections from all domains, such as assistance in the rescue of cultural assets, low-temperature treatments for artifacts at local cultural centers, and consultations on improving the collection environment. We also take pride in activating collection objects. For example, in 2017, a wooden replica of a sacred rune was returned to Tainan Xingji Temple. In 2018, the Quancheng plaque was returned to Daxi. In 2019, in cooperation with Taichung City Government, the museum rescued building materials from the September 21, 1999 earthquake for reuse by the government’s resource bank. Items returned to Shan Temple in Dongshi District, Taichung City, reverted to their original historical and cultural context, reconnecting local believers with their memories of the temple.
Furthermore, we actively promote appropriate preservation concepts by carrying out a series of activities such as the "Home Antiquities Maintenance Workshop." In 2019, to help market the museum’s preservation concepts, the principles of cultural relicpreservation were published in an easy-to-understand graphic novel "Crazy Cultural Relics - Preserving the Right Way."
In recent years, to explore the development of preservation and conservation technology, we have purchased non-destructive equipments, developed preservation science, and promoted exchanges and cooperation between museums and schools. To broaden research on Taiwan’s cultural relics and establish Taiwan’s cultural particularity and integrity, since 2017, we have been applying to the Ministry of Science and Technology for the "Opening the Door to History: Taiwan's Historical Innovation and Technology Experience Construction Project" to promote scientific preservation of cultural relics. We have also co-organized the “Scientific Inspection of the Museum Collection Workshop" with National Taiwan Museum, and built 3D images of relics for use in exhibitions and educational activities.
Secondly, through the implementation of relevant programs subsidized by the Ministry of Culture, content descriptions and image scans of the collections have been completed, and the status of collection rights clarified. Promoting the disclosure and transparency of collection materials helps achieve the goal of public access to the shared collection. After 2019, in order to strengthen the activation and utilization of the collection, we began using it to develop cultural products, value-added services and other projects, to more efficiently market and promote the collection.
The NMTH endeavors to diversify development, strengthen the collection structure, and upgrade storage equipment. We are also committed to promoting the publicization of collection resources and social innovation. Through the finalization of data, sharing of knowledge, and co-writing of Taiwan’s history through artifacts, the museum has created a new model for the preservation of Taiwan's cultural assets. In the future, we will continue to public of collection resource, research material of cultural relics, optimize collection space, and build storage environment suitable for the preservation of artifacts, in order to better the collections assessable and unify the historical memories of the Taiwanese people.
