31 July, 2015 - A new Italian research project dedicated to the restoration and enhancement of the statues kept in the Buddhist temple of Qingzhou Longxing, China, is ready for its kick-off. Salvatore Lorusso, lecturer at the University of Bologna and recently-appointed Professor Emeritus of the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Zhejiang, will direct activities. The appointment - states the website of the University of Bologna - comes from the director of the Chinese institute, Cao Jinyan, after a visit of prof. Lorusso to the Qingzhou Museum and Zhejiang University during which he laid the foundations for the project. The discovery of the Qingzhou Buddhist statues was made in 1996, and it still stands today as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, both for its scientific and cultural importance as for its importance in terms of socio-economic development. Among the many statues and numerous fragments found, now at the Qingzhou Museum, the project will focus on some limestone statues carved between 520 and 1100 AD, in various states of preservation, and in some cases with issues arising from previous restoration interventions. This project is the result of the collaboration agreement signed in Bologna last December between the Italian university and the Zhejiang University to activate a joint laboratory research on the diagnosis and preservation of cultural heritage. (Red)

A 3D ELABORATION

The research project is a collaboration between the Cultural Heritage Institute of Zhejiang University and the Diagnostic Laboratory for Cultural Heritage of the Cultural Heritage Department at the University of Bologna (Ravenna Campus). It provides for the development of three-dimensional models created with a 3D scanner modeling software that allows researchers to study the geometry of the sculptures and examine the traces left by restoration works. The project also includes the development of a system for the virtual placement of fragments (virtual anastylosis) and the reconstruction of missing parts of the statues. This activity has the objective of preparing for the hypothetical reconstruction of the sculptures in their original form: a real digital restoration.