If Genghis Khan were alive, what would he make of being the star of a show in an integrated resort with casino?
'I think he wouldn't like it at all,' says Don Lessem, the creator of Genghis Khan: The Exhibition, now on at Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum.
'For one thing, he had no taste for partying or being in a luxurious situation. For another, he didn't like attention on himself.'
More than 200 artefacts related to the man and his reign (1206-1227) will be on display in the touring exhibition, which is making its debut in Asia after stops in Texas, Colorado and California. About 40 items were added for the Singapore leg. Among these is a mummy of a Mongolian aristocrat who lived around the Khan's time, with three sets of her robes and jewellery.
Another highlight is a circular pass, or paiza, which grants the Khan's messengers or other bearers safe passage through his empire. On loan from a private collector from Kazakhstan, it is made of iron and inscribed in silver using a technique that has since been lost. Aptly, by sheer chance, the Marina Bay Sands' VIP club for high rollers is called the Paiza Club.
Visitors are given a card when they enter, which gives them an identity ranging from spies and soldiers to princesses. Along their journey through the exhibition, they can tap the card at touch-screen computer terminals scattered throughout the galleries to find out what happens to their character and their descendants. There is also a recreated ger, or traditional Mongolian dwelling, as well as roving Mongolian performers and weapons demonstrations.