A centuries-old sculpture of a Chinese monk has returned to its original home in Kassel's Mountain Park (Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe) after being missing for nearly 50 years. The artwork, which was once part of the historic park's baroque landscape, was recently donated to Hessen Kassel Heritage after spending decades in a private garden – though it had been missing its head.
The emotional reunion took place on Monday afternoon (November 10) at Mulangstraße in the Mountain Park, where several officials gathered to celebrate the sculpture's return. Among those present were Roswitha and Klaus-Eberhard Becker, the couple who had cared for the headless statue for nearly two decades, along with Justus Lange, acting director of Hessen Kassel Heritage (HKH), Norbert Arnold, head of HKH's monument preservation department, and restorer Tobias Sperber from Bauer-Bornemann stone restoration company in Bamberg.
"She has become beautiful. We will definitely come by often to visit her," said 75-year-old Roswitha Becker as she stood next to the newly restored sculpture. The Beckers had housed the damaged artwork in their Brasselsberg neighborhood garden since 2004, after receiving it as a gift from the children of their deceased best friends and neighbors. "The heirs told us we could choose something as a keepsake," Roswitha Becker explained. The two-piece figure without a head, which had stood in their friends' garden, had always appealed to her.
Transporting the heavy sculpture proved challenging, but Roswitha Becker's background in logistics came in handy. She organized five strong men to manually move the pieces onto a lift truck and transport them to her garden, where her 88-year-old husband Klaus-Eberhard had already prepared a stable concrete base. The couple assembled the two parts using adhesive. "I wielded the trowel with the glue myself," said Klaus-Eberhard Becker, who formerly owned a business.
The Beckers were determined to learn more about their mysterious garden ornament's origins. They knew only that their neighbor had rescued the sculpture from a construction debris container in the 1970s. The artwork was severely weathered, missing its head and toe tips. The couple made several attempts to discover its original location over the years.
A significant breakthrough came when Hans-Kurt Boehlke, the late founder of the Museum of Sepulchral Culture who died in 2010, examined the sculpture in their garden. "Boehlke crawled through the bushes in his bright suit and emerged from under the branches claiming: 'From the bottom up, 200 years old,'" Becker recalled. This assessment motivated the couple to ensure the sculpture would eventually be placed in respectful and appreciative hands.
Working together with the monument preservation and provenance research departments of Hessen Kassel Heritage, officials were able to determine that the sculpture had stood in the "Valley of Flora" – below the Weissenstein wing – until the early 18th century. According to HKH spokeswoman Lena Pralle, the Chinese figure fell victim to the transformation of the baroque park into a romantic landscape garden during that period.
The crucial clue to the sculpture's origin came from a colleague in April 2023, who found a relevant text passage, according to Norbert Arnold. Additionally, two black-and-white photographs from 1907 surfaced, showing the sculpture complete with its head. These historical images became invaluable resources for the restoration process.
Restorer Tobias Sperber worked for approximately four months to restore and reconstruct the Chinese wandering monk, using the 1907 photographs as references. The sculpture now has a new head and restored toe tips. The expert also discovered that the monk originally held a pilgrim's staff. "The work was enjoyable from start to finish," Sperber said during yesterday's small celebration ceremony.
Interestingly, Klaus-Eberhard Becker also helped select the sculpture's new location – a small park section at Mulangstraße 3, separated from the main part of the Mountain Park only by a street. According to HKH, this location allows the sculpture to fit perfectly into the 19th-century China fashion represented in that area of the park.
The Becker couple has found a replacement for their Brasselsberg garden, where a Buddha figure now rests – one that, unlike their former tenant, has kept its head intact. The return of this historic artwork represents not only a successful restoration project but also a testament to the dedication of private citizens who recognized the cultural value of what others might have discarded as debris.
