Research at Museum Rietberg and Kulturmuseum St. Gallen

Dr Zhu Ruolin and Alexandra Von Przychowski, Curator of Chinese Art, Museum Rietberg.

The research at Museum Rietberg and Kulturmuseum St. Gallen forms a key component of the Global Guanyin Initiative. This study involves the inspection and acquisition of firsthand knowledge of wooden sculptures in the museum collections, which are crucial for understanding the geographic distribution of styles and workshops in Shanxi Province and neighboring regions during late Medieval China. Notably, the research uncovered the remains of a possible 15th–16th century wooden Bodhisattva statue, a discovery that has garnered significant interest for the Initiative.