Australia hands Ming dynasty Buddha back to China amid ongoing mystery over its arrival

A 500-year-old Buddha statue that was found buried by a roadside in Australia has been returned to China, leaving an ongoing mystery about how it arrived in the country.

The 15cm (six-inch) bronze figurine was formally handed over to Chinese consular representatives during a ceremony in the coastal town of Denham in Shark Bay on Tuesday, the public broadcaster ABC reported.

It will be taken to China for further evaluation to establish its history before being displayed at a museum in Beijing.

Discoverers Leon Deschamps and Shayne Thomson unearthed the statue in 2018 while testing metal detecting equipment in the area.

Since then, they have said it should be returned to China as a gesture of goodwill.

Simon Wu, president of the Australia China Friendship Society Western Australia, described the return as extraordinarily generous.

“Today is an example of how we can bring cultures, countries and people together through a small object. It is showing respect and goodwill,” Wu told the repatriation ceremony.

The figurine – believed to be the oldest Chinese artefact ever found in Australia – was used in ceremonies celebrating the Buddha’s birthday. During the ritual, worshippers would pour water over the statue’s shoulders while chanting sutras to encourage good deeds and compassionate thoughts.

Asian art specialist Lee Young authenticated the statue as a genuine piece from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but how it ended up in Australia remains a mystery.

Some media reports have claimed that it may have been carried on the treasure ships of the celebrated 15th century seafarer Zheng He – but there is no evidence that he ever reached Australia.

A more plausible theory is that the statue arrived with Chinese pearlers and fishermen in the 19th century.

Shark Bay became the birthplace of Western Australia’s pearling industry, which relied heavily on Malay, Chinese and Indigenous Australian labourers.

According to Western Australian Museum records, an 1886 census showed that more than 200 people were working in the local pearling industry, including 60 Europeans, 102 Chinese and 68 Malays.

That year, 68 pearling vessels were operating in the area, seven of which were Chinese-owned. However, the industry declined in subsequent years and the local authorities imposed a series of restrictions on Chinese immigration.

The ABC reported that the Buddha would be returned to China along with some of Shark Bay’s distinctive red earth and a golden pearl shell.

In 2023, Australia returned a batch of valuable cultural relics to China, including items seized by customs, as well as pieces donated by the National Gallery of Australia and a private citizen.