Australia Repatriates Ancient Sculptures to China

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA—China Daily reports that Australian officials have repatriated the looted heads of two statues dating to the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 960–1127) to China. The sculptures, which depict a civil official and a military official, were taken from imperial mausoleums near Kaifeng, the Song Dynasty capital in central China. Chinese Ambassador to Australia Liu Jinsong said that the statues once stood guard at ancient tombs—the civil official at the Yongchang Mausoleum and the military official at the Yongyu Mausolem. The National Gallery of Australia acquired the sculptures in 1995. China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration requested their return in 2025. “The return of these two statues is not the end of their story,” Jinsong said. “It is a new beginning for research, conservation, and cultural heritage,” he added. To read about excavations at Kaifeng, go to “Bridge to the Past.”