Tianlongshan Caves Project

Description

An extension of the Buddhist Caves Project begun with Xiangtangshan, the international collaborative research project on the Buddhist cave shrines of Tianlongshan also produced a database of images and 3D models of sculptures outside China and of the caves. The Tianlongshan caves were created from the sixth to eighth centuries, and like at Xiangtangshan, its sculptures were severely damaged in the early twentieth century when many were taken for sale in the international art market. The project has resulted in the matching of former sculptural images with their original cave locations and digital reconstruction of the caves, as well as the restoration of broken sculptures now located outside of China. The project results were published on a website as well as in a large scale exhibition at the Taiyuan Municipal Museum that opened in September 2019.