LONDON — A figure of a roaring lion, about the size of a loaf of bread, is the latest step in the fight to preserve culture from conflict.
The sculpture is a replica of a colossal 3,000-year-old statue from Nimrud, in what is now Iraq. The stone statue was one of many artifacts from the Mosul Museum destroyed by the Islamic State group after it overran the city in 2014.
A 3D printed 2015 recreation titled ‘Unknown King of Haar’ by Morehshin Allahyari is displayed as part of the ‘What Remains’ exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London, Wednesday, July 3, 2019. The original statue was destroyed by the Islamic State group at the Mosul Museum in Iraq, and now the 3D recreation has a flash drive and memory card sealed within it, containing documents relating to the original artefact. The exhibit, which runs from July 5 until January 5, 2020, explores why cultural heritage is attacked during historical and contemporary conflicts. (AP Photo/Natasha Livingstone)
Part of the ‘Rebel Sounds’ exhibition, which explores how people used music to resist and rebel against war and oppression, is displayed at the Imperial War Museum in London, Wednesday, July 3, 2019. The exhibit, which runs from July 5 until January 5, 2020, explores why cultural heritage is attacked during historical and contemporary conflicts. (AP Photo/Natasha Livingstone)
The replica, which can be viewed online , was modelled from crowd-sourced photos taken by Mosul Museum visitors in happier times and 3-D printed as part of a Google-backed project.
It’s going on display at London’s Imperial War Museum in an exhibition that looks at how war devastates societies’ cultural fabric – and at the often heroic steps taken to preserve it.
