“Trésors sauvés de Gaza. 5000 ans d’histoire” (Treasures Saved from Gaza: 5000 Years of History) is an exhibition displaying 130 antiquities from Gaza within the context of the current wartime situation in the area. The exhibits come from Franco-Palestinian excavations that began in 1995, including the spectacular Abu Baraqeh mosaic, and from the private collection of Jawdat Khoudery, which was donated to the Palestinian National Authority in 2018 and is being presented in France for the first time. The exhibition is organized by the Institute of the Arab World (Paris, France), in partnership with the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Museum of Art and History of Geneva (MAH).
Since 2007, the Museum of Art and History of Geneva (MAH) has served as a refuge for an archaeological collection of nearly 529 artifacts belonging to the Palestinian National Authority, which have never been able to return to Gaza. The masterpieces showcased now are a selection of this collection (aka saved treasures) and include amphorae, statuettes, funerary steles, oil lamps, figurines, and mosaics, dating from the Bronze Age to the Ottoman period.
The exhibition also presents mapping info regarding recent bombings, along with a record of the latest archaeological discoveries in Gaza and previously unseen photographs of the city from the early 20th century which come from the collection of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem. Thus, the show addresses issues related to heritage in times of war, particularly in Gaza, where more than two-thirds of the buildings have been destroyed.