The magic of conservation

"The crown vividly portrays a princess' luxurious life and the booming culture of Chang'an at the zenith of the Tang Dynasty," Zhou says. "It is also a good example to show how research was done in the lab."

New technical approaches today are used in analyzing materials and making tailored conservation plans for the artifacts, meaning restoration is a more assured science than it was.

For example, when the astonishing discovery of the Terracotta Warriors was made in the 1970s in the 2,200-year-old mausoleum of Qinshihuang, China's first emperor, bodies of these human-size pottery figures were covered by colored lacquer. The archaeologists witnessed the lacquered layers falling apart on site shortly after the warriors were unearthed. Technology back then was unable to stop the dramatic deterioration brought about by the sudden change of environment.

Conservators working on the Xi'an site today have chemicals and electron beam irradiation to consolidate the lacquered layers and preserve their color.

Still, no matter how technology is developed, traditional craftsmanship remains essential.