After two years of negotiations with its British counterpart and two days of air lifting pieces, the National Palace Museum on Wednesday proudly unveiled three artifacts that will be part of an upcoming exhibit entitled, "Treasures of the Worlds Cultures: The British Museum after 250 Years," which is expected to run from February 4 through May 27.

Museum Director Lin Mun-lee （林曼麗） explained that the collection of 271 ancient relics represent the course of human history throughout various time periods in different regions.

"Visitors to the museum will be pleasantly surprised when they see the collection. Each item tells a story, as it embodies the very essence of the era it represents," she said, adding the event represents unprecedented cooperation between two of the worlds great museums.

One of the pieces unveiled on Wednesday was the Egyptian wooden anthropoid inner coffin of Djeho which dates back to 305 B.C.-330 B.C. The Djehos inner coffin is a classic example of an anthropoid mummy-case made for a man of high social status. The application of gold leaf to the face and the blue wig indicate divine qualities expected to be obtained by the deceased in the next life.

Another Egyptian artifact in the collection is the "Unlucky Mummy." However, contrary to what its title indicates, the "Unlucky Mummy," is not a mummy at all, but rather an exquisitely painted and sculpted coffin lid in the shape of a woman. It is believed that it was found at Thebes and can be dated by its shape and the style of its decoration to the late 21st or early 22nd Dynasty, or around 950B.C.-900 B.C.

The "Unlucky Mummy," the most famous icon of the British Museum, has also acquired a reputation for bringing misfortune and causing death, injury and large-scale disasters such as the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. None of these stories have any basis in fact, but from time to time the strength of the rumors lead to a flood of enquiries on the subject. A disclaimer written by Wallis Budge was published in 1934, and since that time the myth has undergone further embellishment.

The third item unveiled on Wednesday was the bust of Antinous who was the most favored companion of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. The bust, measuring 60 centimeters in height, was sculpted entirely from fine white marble.

To protect the artifacts, seven handlers were sent from the British Museum to personally escort and supervise the entire transportation and unpacking process.

Tim Chamberlain, the senior museum assistant in loans and touring exhibitions said it took his team approximately one month to package the entire collection.

"There is not any danger in transporting the items because we package each one of them very thoroughly and carefully," Chamberlain said, adding that it would be impossible for him to determine which of the artifacts was the most valuable because "they are all priceless and unique."

The exhibition also includes other works of sculpture and paintings, as well as historical and cultural artifacts in a wide range of materials, such as glass, gold, silver, bronze, stone, wood, and ceramic, from countries spanning Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, the Americas, and Africa.