A large clay figure may look like one continuous mass, but its inside can be a light framework. Maijishan’s conservation record describes figures made with wooden cores, reed elements and clay layers. In Cave 74, a historic sculpture held a hollow cavity with loose sand and fragile reeds. Its shape depended on a shell and support system, not on filling every space with material.
From the journal
How a Clay Figure Holds Its Shape
At Maijishan, sculpture can contain wood, reeds, loose fill and layered clay; conservation begins by learning how each figure was made.
In the same city · Tianshui ↗A statue is not always solid
The armature beneath the surface
Wooden stakes or a shaped frame can carry weight; reeds help bridge or bind parts of the form; clay builds the volume and surface. A projecting arm, robe edge or body may rely on these supports. Over centuries, wood can loosen or decay, reeds become brittle and outer clay cracks or detaches. The load carried by the internal structure helps explain the damage visible on the surface. Conservators examine that relationship before choosing where to add support.
From modelling to painted presence
Clay was shaped into bodies, garments, faces and ornaments, then finished as part of a sculptural and painted ensemble. Maijishan objects vary across periods; the institute studies materials, techniques and damage rather than assuming one recipe. The surface can preserve modelling marks, color layers and traces of earlier interventions. Each is evidence of how the image was made and later cared for.
Why repair follows the old structure
When the Cave 74 figure was repaired, the team considered preserving its hollow form rather than filling it for convenience. A natural tree branch was shaped to fit the cavity, following the object’s existing material logic. In another case, when an internal wooden frame had failed, repairers opened a narrow channel at the back, replaced the timber and joined it to the original clay. Repair begins as structural investigation.
What the construction lets us see
The figure’s interior is usually hidden, but it changes how we understand the finished image. A clay shell around an armature is a solution to weight, scale and placement inside a cave. It also explains why water and vibration matter: damage to support can spread to painted skin. Looking at Maijishan means seeing both the face that meets a visitor and the carefully built body behind it.