Museums of Turkmenistan: actualization of history
Expenditures of the state budget of Turkmenistan for cultural activities increased by 28 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. There is a huge work in many areas done – from library system to rural clubs – behind this figure. In addition, a special place belongs to the museums of the country.
The promotion of museum’s activity in Turkmenistan is based on the availability of a significant number of historical and cultural treasures of national and universal importance. There are 38 state museums in the country, including 22 historical, 7 museums of local lore, 3 memorial museums as well as 2 fine arts, 3 literary and 2 specialized museums.
The number of items of the main fund of museums is 285 thousand units, about a fifth of which are exhibited over the year at various thematic exhibitions.
At present, about a thousand people employed in museums. According to the data of the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan, the museums of the country organized 1,146 exhibitions in 2017, during which 539,500 visitors were able to view their exhibits. In addition, more than a thousand outdoor exhibitions took place.
Recently, restoration work on the reconstruction and museification of unique mosaic panels discovered during the excavation of Bronze Age Gonur Depe monument was completed. For three years, painstaking job to preserve fragile objects and to restore their original appearance was carried out. These ornamental and plot mosaic compositions have no analogues in the art of the Ancient East, therefore their discovery is a real scientific sensation.
