The Terra Cotta Chinese horse and rider statues came to us for restoration from different customers. These statues are very old, fragile and made with very soft terra cotta fired clay. They were broken to several fragments and pieces were missing. Reinforcing the repaired areas with metal pins and pegs was important if the restoration is to last for generations. Recreating the diverse surface texture, sculpting the missing pieces from clay that was then fired, and duplicating the many color variations was complex and involved. Below are some examples of before and after repair and some pictures showing a few steps in the restoration process.
Tang Dynasty Terra Cotta Horse and Rider Sculpture Repair
Tang Dynasty Terracotta Bactrian Camel
Tang Dynasty Terracotta horse and rider
Broken Chinese Terra Cotta horse
Restored Terra Cotta horse
Broken Chinese Terra Cotta horse & rider
RestoredTerra Cotta horse and rider
Broken Chinese Terra Cotta horse & rider
Restored Terra Cotta horse and ider
Broken Terra Cotta horse and rider
Restored Chinese Terra Cotta horse
Visible old repairs and missing parts
Missing piece made out of fired clay
Sculpted pieces fired in kiln
Fired sculpted hands mounted
Brass pins reinforcing broken legs
All broken parts cemented / pegged
Repair lines filled and polished
Set of three horses completed
How to determine the value and how old is my ancient pottery or sculpture or if it is authentic? Items such as Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Pre-Columbian, Israelite, Roman, Egyptian, Moche and Mayan Pottery, etc. - See link Q&A #3
