Full Breakdown
Ming Dynasty Buddha Statue Returned to China After Decades in Shark Bay
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The Return Ceremony
A 15 cm bronze Buddha figurine dating to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) was formally handed over to Chinese consular representatives on the Denham foreshore in Shark Bay, Western Australia. The hand-over was described as an emotional event, with the statue slated for transport to China for evaluation and eventual display in a Beijing museum.
Discovery and Historical Theories
Prospectors Leon Deschamps and Shayne Thomson uncovered the statue in 2018 while testing metal-detecting equipment beside a remote highway. The figurine, used historically in Buddha-birthday rituals, has no documented provenance in Australia. Scholars have suggested two main possibilities: it may have arrived on 15th-century treasure ships of the explorer Zheng He—though no evidence confirms his fleet reached Australia—or it could have been brought by Chinese pearlers and fishermen who worked in Shark Bay’s 19th-century pearling industry.
Official Reactions
Chinese Consul Liu Guannan and Acting Consul-General Wang Fengzhong received the statue and noted that red earth from Shark Bay and a golden pearl shell would accompany it back to China.
Data and Historical Context
Western Australian Museum records show that the 1886 census listed more than 200 workers in the local pearling sector: 60 Europeans, 102 Chinese and 68 Malays. That year, 68 pearling vessels operated in the area, seven of which were Chinese-owned. The industry later declined, and authorities imposed restrictions on Chinese immigration. In 2023, Australia returned a batch of cultural relics to China, including items seized by customs and donations from the National Gallery of Australia.
Verbatim Quotes
- “This is a story that not many Australians know and we feel proud to share it,” — Mr Deschamps
- “I remember the moment we passed the buddha into Nick's hands … the instant he held it, his body got covered in goosebumps,” — Mr Deschamps