A file photo shows the Tianlongshan Grottoes in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China. /CFP
A touring exhibition showcasing the international digital restoration of the Taiyuan Tianlongshan Grottoes in north China’s Shanxi Province has made a stop in Egypt.
The tour was initiated in 2014 as part of a collaborative project involving the Taiyuan Tianlongshan Grottoes Museum and academic institutions from both domestic and international arenas. Over the course of five years, the project collected three-dimensional data from 94 previously lost Tianlongshan Grottoes sculptures from ten museums in 21 countries, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum, and Osaka Metro NiNE in Japan.
It successfully completed three-dimensional scanning and data modeling of the grottoes, resulting in the professional digital restoration of 11 caves.
Building on these foundations, the project not only embarked on a touring exhibition but also created a model for international collaboration in the research and display of grotto temple art. The digital restoration project brought back to life many sculptures previously lost or scattered around different corners of the globe over the centuries, and helped to revive the exquisite artistry of the Tianlongshan Grottoes.
With a history spanning over 2,500 years, Taiyuan in Shanxi Province is home to the Tianlongshan Grottoes, which were carved during the Eastern Wei (534-550), Northern Qi (550-577), Sui (581-618), and Tang (618-907) dynasties. Comprising 25 caves and over 500 stone Buddha sculptures, they are considered the pinnacle of Chinese grotto art.
An undated photo shows a stone Buddha head from Cave 18 of the Tianlongshan Grottoes displayed at the National Museum of China, Beijing. /CFP
The exhibition has also been a pioneering undertaking domestically, reuniting precious artifacts formerly separated from their original environments due to historical reasons, in a comprehensive virtual manner. It marks the first large-scale digital restoration tour of its kind internationally and stands as a vivid example of the broader use of technology in the field of cultural preservation.
Divided into four sections, "Prologue," "Mountain," "Buddha," and "People," the exhibition cleverly combines the beauty of Tianlongshan Grottoes art and digital technology. It showcases the magnificent and splendid artistry of the Tianlongshan Grottoes while highlighting the fusion of art from China with the wider world.