Long before Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, which ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ushered in a period of ongoing democratic transition and arguably launched the wave of protests that continue to rock the Arab world, the North African country, then under Ottoman rule, saw another popular uprising: the 1864 revolt instigated by tribal leaders angry with forward-thinking judicial and financial legislation.

Legal documents — including one that abolishes slavery and a new constitution affording equal rights to all Tunisians — are now on public display for the first time ever along with 300 Ottoman-era paintings, costumes, religious objects and furniture. The exhibit, aptly titled “The Rise of a Nation,” is not afraid to explore periods of historical tension — in fact, that’s the goal.

“We look to the past because for us, the past was forgotten. What’s important to us is to reinvest in our history, to better invest in our contemporary. We don’t talk about the past to hide ourselves, but to project ourselves into the future,” the show’s curator Ridha Moumni told Al-Monitor.

The exhibit, on display at the Qsar es-Said palace from Nov. 27 through Feb. 27, took an impressively short 11 months to curate and organize. The palace, which has been restored to its original Arabo-Andalusian splendor, is a glamorous space for the equally ornate objects and restored paintings. It was the final residence for the last Ottoman beys of Tunisia, but despite its grandeur, it was locked up for nearly a century.