site.btaPM, Three Cabinet Ministers to Attend Opening of Thracian Art Exhibition in Louvre

PM, Three Cabinet Ministers to Attend Opening of Thracian Art Exhibition in Louvre

Sofia, April 13 (BTA) - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov will
attend the unveiling of the exhibition entitled "The Epopee of
Thracian Kings: Archaeological Finds in Bulgaria" in the Louvre
on Tuesday, the Cabinet's Press Service said Monday.
The exhibition is staged under the auspices of Bulgaria's Prime
Minister and includes exhibits of 17 Bulgarian museums.

Within his visit to Paris, Borissov will meet with French
President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace. Attending the
meeting will be French Prime Minister Manuel Valls. Borissov is
also expected to confer with former president Nicolas Sarkozy
(in office 2007-2012) and leader of the Union for a Popular
Movement.

Borissov will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister for
Coalition Policy and Public Administration and Interior Minister
Roumyana Buchvarova and Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov. The
press centre of the Tourism Ministry said that Tourism Minister
Nikolina Angelkova will also attend the opening of the
exhibition.

The first opening ceremony, on April 14, will also be attended
by French Culture and Communication Minister Fleur Pellerin. The
guests of honour invited to the function include UNESCO
Director-General Irina Bokova, EU Commission Vice President
Kristalina Georgieva and Bulgarian-born singer Sylvie Vartan.

A second, special opening of the exhibition will take place on
April 15. The invitees to it are all directors of museums which
made available their exhibits for inclusion in the exhibition
and the sponsors who supported the conservation and restoration
of the artefacts, the accompanying promotional campaign for
Bulgaria's cultural heritage and for the forthcoming visit of
two exhibitions from the Louvre, in Plovdiv and Sofia.

Three French and two Bulgarian curators produced the scientific
concept and selected the items for the display. It features
1,629 exhibits from 17 Bulgarian museums and 20 exhibits from
the Louvre and 11 other cultural institutions, including the
British Museum and the Prado Museum.

The exhibition explores various components of the Odrysian
Kingdom. On show for the first time will be several complete
sets of major tomb furnishings, allowing a comparison of
previously unseen items with similar material found in Greek
city-states along the coast. A centrepiece is the bronze head of
King Seuthes III (reigned ca. 331 - ca. 300 BC) from the
holdings of the Institute of Archaeology and Museum with the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia.

The display is arranged in four halls in the Louvre's Richelieu
Wing and can be seen between April 16 and July 20, 2015.
Admission is included in the museum ticket.