A Chinese watercolor of the Madonna and Child has recently been restored, and is thought to be one of the earliest pieces of evidence for Christianity’s spread in China. From the Chicago Tribune:
As a pair of conservators at the Field Museum slowly unrolled an ancient Chinese scroll, it dramatically revealed how far the Christian faith has traveled since that first Christmas in Bethlehem.
Though the delicate watercolor of a Madonna and Child is among oldest visual evidences of Christianity in the Far East, the museum had prosaically dubbed it “catalog number 116027.” For decades, it sat in a dimly lit case, cracked and soiled. The details were hard to discern.
“I only began to realize how important this thing is when we [recently] had it restored,” said curator Bennet Bronson. “Look.” [Full text]
[Image source: Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune. Jamie Kelly (left), collections manager for the Field Museum anthropology department, and Tina Gessler, assistant conservator, roll up a Chinese scroll painting of the Madonna and Child.]
