500-year-old Tibetan frescos to be restored
Print Edition
Authorities in southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region will this year begin restoring valuable frescos that date back more than 500 years.
The massive repair job on the frescos gracing the 3-meter-high walls of the Qoide Monastery in Gonggar County, Shannan Prefecture, is expected to get under way in November, said Gesang, deputy director of the monastery’s management committee.
The project, funded by the regional government, will cost more than 6 million yuan (US$977,400), Gesang said.
A renowned Tibetan artist spent 14 years creating the paintings after the monastery was established in 1464.
The painter was the founder of mKhyen-brtse style, a Tibetan traditional painting school famed for its landscapes drawn with dark mineral pigments.
Through natural deterioration, the delicate paintings have cracked, with their colors fading, said Qamba Cering, deputy head of Shannan Prefecture’s cultural heritage bureau.
There has also been significant damage by humans, staining the paintings’ surface layers, Qamba Cering said.
“Restorers must adhere to the original style,” he explained.
“They’ll experiment with restoration techniques on several pieces, then apply them to all the frescos if they prove feasible,” added Qamba Cering.
The Qoide Monastery, a prominent temple for Tibetan Buddhism’s Sakya Sect, preserves most mKhyen-brtse-style wall paintings in Tibet, as their painter was born and raised in a village near the monastery, said Gesang.
In March, a revamp of the Qoide Monastery, with an investment of more than 8 million yuan, began in preparation for the frescos’ restoration, said Gesang.
“Hopefully, the precious frescos will reopen to the public in two to three years,” he added.
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