Iraq’s rich history will be showcased outside the country for the first time since 1988, when an exhibition opens at the Venice Biennale later this year. Rare artefacts which date back to 6,000 BC will be on display and include preserved figurines of deities and animals, musical instruments and clay ware.

The collection includes numerous objects recovered from the looting of the Baghdad Museum in 2005. Tamara Chalabi, co-curator of the exhibition says it is important that people outside of Iraq witness the cultural relics at a time when the country’s rich antiquity is being targeted and destroyed by jihadists.

“It fights a cultural prejudice people have and the perception that there is no art now left in Iraq or nothing left worth saving.”

The exhibition is called ‘Archaic’ and will feature numerous objects from the Babylonian period as well as work by eight contemporary Iraqi artists. The idea behind the venture is to bring to attention Iraq’s history as the cradle of civilisation and attempt to create a dialogue between the old and the new.