INAH to help rebuild Brazil National Museum

The Collective Rebuilding Network of the Brazil National Museum , in which Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) participates , is still working on the recovery of the premises after a fire destroyed 90 percent of its collections and damaged the building structure on September 2 .

Through INAH, Mexico’s Ministry of Culture launched an initiative to help in the reconstruction of the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, in cooperation with Brazil’s cultural authorities.

Mexican institutions will contribute to the initiative of the Collective Rebuilding Network for the Reconstruction of the National Museum of Brazil-UFRJ by donating book copies, since most of the heritage lost in the fire belonged to its prestigious library of anthropology.

Another point of the initiative, which was launched at the Popular Art Museum in Mexico City, consists of a technical collaboration to define what the new museum will be like, gathering a broad repertoire of books and information on indigenous peoples that lived in the region of Brazil.

The Brazilian museum space, founded by the King of Portugal, John VI, on June 6th, 1818 , hosted more than 20 million pieces and was considered to be the most important cultural site in Brazil. The first stage of its reconstruction began in the month of October .

The National Museum of Brazil included a vast library, collections of great historical value such as a dinosaur skeleton, original pieces from Ancient Greece and Egypt, and one of the most ancient human fossils found in Brazil: The famous Luzia, which dates back 12 thousand years . Coincidentally, it was one of the pieces that was salvaged.

Other elements that were recovered after the incident on September 2, which began at 19:30 hours local time , were archeological pieces and meteorites.

“What we want is to finish the new building quickly so that it may house our investigation volumes, such as the ones that you have about your indigenous peoples,” stated Roberto Leher, dean of the Federal Rio de Janeiro University of Brazil , during the official announcement.

“I am very happy and honored to be here with you, receiving the solidarity of the Mexican people and its cultural institutions to rebuild our National Museum,” he expressed.

“The construction of a new museum, enriched by the vision of Mexico, is very important to us, as are the knowledge and contributions of Mexican specialists participating in the project. We believe that the museum will be finished by 2022 or 2023 .

Brazil's National Museum engulfed in flames

dm