Two Chinese pottery figurines made in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) have finally come home. Citizens will have the opportunity to take a closer look at them soon, as they are now collected at the Shanghai Museum.

The relics were donated by Ms. Suzanne Fratus from California, U.S.

They were inherited from Fratus's grandfather, John Herbert Waite, a professor at Harvard Medical School. Back in the early 20th century, Waite practiced medicine in China and other Asian countries. After curing eye diseases for a child in a wealthy Chinese family, he was given these two pottery figurines as gratitude. One of the pottery figurines was partly damaged. Fratus's grandmother helped to repair it and handed over the two figurines to Fratus.

In 1983, to celebrate the establishment of sister cities between Shanghai and San Francisco, the Shanghai Museum held an exhibition centered around “Six Thousand Years of Chinese Art” at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. It was then that Fratus found that a set of guard of honor figurines on display was similar to the pottery figurinesin her home. For the ensuing 30 years or so, she has been looking forward to returning the cultural relics to the Chinese people in a suitable way.

Suzanne Fratus said the returning of the figurines means a lot.

(Photo/whb.cn)