Patience, dedication create brush with past

Restorer Li Tong loves nothing more than using her brush to bring an ancient artwork back to life.

As a porcelain and pottery restorer at the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, the 35-year-old has, over the past six years, revived several hundred cultural relics.

Restoring ancient Chinese porcelain demands a refined sensitivity to colors. Unlike many other artifacts, these pieces have rich and varied hues and patterns.

"Color restoration is the most difficult part," Li said. "It's hard to mix pigments that match the original exactly. Colors can look different indoors and outdoors, so we must carefully consider the pigment material, shade and thickness before applying anything."

It is precisely this complexity that drew Li to the profession. "I've always had a keen interest in colors," she said. "When I see an object, I can quickly visualize which pigments to blend to recreate the effect. My experience has consistently confirmed that intuition."

That artistic "instinct" has been honed over years of practice. Li began learning painting, calligraphy and paper-cutting from her grandmother at the age of 5. She later earned a master's degree in fine arts from Zhengzhou University in 2015, where she also studied ancient Chinese characters and seal carving.

After several years at home caring for her child, Li was recommended in 2020 to join a project at the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology to restore an inscribed ancient lacquer folding screen, parts of which had missing characters. After the project, she was recruited by the institute for her proficiency in fine arts.

There, she received training from experienced craftspeople in restoring various types of cultural relics — metal, wood, bamboo and lacquer ware. Once she mastered the basics, Li chose to specialize in porcelain and pottery, developing her own systematic approach.

Her process is meticulous. She begins by planning the restoration, then retrieves the artifact from storage and documents its condition in detail with words and photos. Next comes cleaning, piecing together the usually fragmented item, and finally, color restoration.

The color procedure is not always necessary because repair of the items is made to different degrees based on their functions. For archaeological use, they just piece them together and add the missing parts to show the complete form; for displaying, they add colors so that exhibition visitors can glimpse the original look of the artifacts.

"We never add colors or patterns blindly," Li said. "Every supplement must be based on concrete references — whether from similar porcelain pieces or historical records. Creative interpretation isn't allowed in porcelain restoration." Once the coloring is complete, she applies a glaze and a protective coating to prevent oxidation.

One of her recent projects involved a large Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) vase from the Zhoukou City Museum in Henan. Standing about 50 centimeters tall, the vase originally had two decorative handles, but one was missing. Observing that the existing handle featured the pattern of a flying dragon, Li first supplemented the missing structure and then carefully recreated a symmetrical design for the new handle, layering pigments repeatedly until it matched the original in vitality.

"The vase was particularly challenging to handle because of its size and weight," she said. "I had to handle it gently to avoid causing damage, which made every step more demanding. But when I finished, it was satisfying."

Her dedication and proficiency helped her clinch the top prize at the Henan cultural relics vocational skills competition in 2022, organized by the Henan Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage.

Jiang Daoyin, a 79-year-old restorer of porcelain and pottery based in Shanghai, said that restoration requires immense patience. "Porcelain repair is difficult — broken items often consist of countless fragments. A professional must be patient and calm, willing to repeat steps and stay focused through tricky details. That's how they overcome difficulties," he said.

For Li, the work carries profound responsibility. "These artifacts hold deep historical significance. Through restoration, I hope to help pass on the stories they carry," she said. "That's what makes this profession so meaningful."