OMM Newsroom
Australia has returned to China two ancient stone sculpture heads stolen from imperial mausoleums in central China more than 30 years ago, AnewZ reported.
The sculptures, dating to the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), were formally handed over at a ceremony in Canberra on Wednesday. Representatives of China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration received the artifacts at the National Gallery of Australia.
One head belonged to a statue of a civil official at the Yongchang Mausoleum, while the other came from a statue of a military official at the Yongyu Mausoleum. Both mausoleums are in Gongyi, Henan province. The area contains China’s largest and best-preserved collection of stone statues associated with the burial grounds of Northern Song emperors.
The sculptures, known for their intricate carvings, are considered important examples of Song dynasty stone art.
The heads are believed to have been stolen from the mausoleums in the 1990s and later donated to the National Gallery of Australia by a private collector. The illegal trade in ancient artifacts was widespread in China in the 1980s and 1990s, putting imperial mausoleums at risk of theft.
The Gongyi burial grounds cover 189 square kilometers. Because security was limited at the time, thieves targeted the heads rather than taking the entire statues, each of which weighed several tonnes.
The return process began in 2025, after Chinese officials conducted research and requested the sculptures’ repatriation.
At the ceremony, Tan Wei, deputy director of China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration, presented a certificate of appreciation to Nick Mitzevich, director of the National Gallery of Australia.
China’s ambassador to Australia, Liu Jinsun, said the sculptures had stood guard over ancient imperial mausoleums for centuries. He also highlighted cooperation between government agencies, museums and cultural heritage organizations in the two countries. The parties had worked closely in recent years to fulfill their commitments to protecting cultural heritage under international frameworks, the ambassador said.
Australia has previously returned cultural heritage items to China. In 2005, 10,000 fossils illegally taken from China were handed back.
The latest handover marks another step in cooperation between Beijing and Canberra on cultural heritage protection, returning two pieces of China’s imperial history to their homeland after more than 30 years.
