Restoring clay figurines

Zhou said the entire repair process for the clay figurines consists of six steps which include cleaning, splicing, filling cracks, polishing, priming and coloring.

At First, Zhou cleaned each figurine with water, and then he observed the entire figurine to see if there are any fractures or missing parts. Secondly, he spliced the separate parts and filled in the cracks with mixed materials made of lime and mineral pigments.

For the badly damaged parts, he would make similar models to fill up and fit the figure. Once the figurine is complete, he will then polish it with emery paper. Finally, the polished figurine will be painted and restored to its original glamour.