From Monkey Jesus to SpongeBob Castle: 8 of the worst restorations of artworks and historic buildings
Many priceless historic works have been ruined by well-intentioned but unqualified artisans. That list now has a new entrant, with photos of a garishly restored historic stone Buddha appearing on Chinese social media last week
Restoration is an essential step in the conservation of old sculptures, paintings and buildings. But without thorough knowledge, the correct materials and attention to detail, such rejuvenations can have unintended results – as proved once again by the botched restoration of a historic stone Buddha in southwest China.
The work on the Song dynasty (960-1279) relic in Anyue township, Sichuan province was actually carried out in 1995 but only came to light last week when photos of the statue went viral on social media. The “restored” sculpture had been covered with garish colours and appeared cartoonish.
The photos were published by cultural relics enthusiast Xu Xin on his Weibo profile. Xin has spent the last four years working at the Dunhuang grottoes in Gansu province, one of the country’s most celebrated Buddhist sites. The posts prompted angry online criticism and were instantly forwarded more than 15,000 times, with many commenters condemning the “restoration” and demanding an explanation from the local government.
In response, authorities explained that the restoration job was done voluntarily and paid for by locals in 1995 and that the government had stopped the work upon finding out, without specifying whether other sculptures had been given similar treatment.
“Hundreds of years later, when our later generations see this, they’ll mistakenly believe that this is the best our civilisation has got,” one internet user wrote.
This is far from the first time a restoration has drawn fire. Here are some of the most infamous cases in recent memory.
