Abstract
Abstract. Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in western China is one of the most famous World Cultural Heritage Sites, known for its glorious Chinese Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. However, it has been suffering from damage and degradation caused by man-made and natural factors. In this article, we present a novel line-drawing enhanced interactive system for digital restoration of damaged murals in Mogao Grottoes. Our system consists of four components, namely data pre-processing, damaged area selection, line-drawing segmentation, and mural restoration. Each component is a hybrid of efficient algorithms and user interactions. We introduce the infrastructure and process of using our system, from data capture and collection, database establishment, to interactive restoration. We conduct a user study with 15 participants who have varied experiences with and skills on repairing murals and editing images. Results and feedback suggest that our system can achieve satisfactory restoration results without overburdening the users. It can benefit both experts trained in restoration and amateurs interested in cultural heritage conservation.
Highlights
Murals are one of the most valuable heritages for studying ancient history, as it preserves a faithful pictorial record of the lives and beliefs at the time
In such cases of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, which is located in a desertification area (Wang et al, 2000), damages found on its murals include flaking (Ma and Wang, 2014), disruption (Fan et al, 2009), blister (Chen and Yu, 2008), etc
We introduce an infrastructure for digitally repairing damaged murals in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, providing data collection, database establishment, and interactive restoration that leverages existing line drawings
Summary
Murals are one of the most valuable heritages for studying ancient history, as it preserves a faithful pictorial record of the lives and beliefs at the time. Most of the existing murals are suffering from degradations due to historical or natural reasons, such as chemical reaction (Sayre, 1973), water, wind, salt erosion, vegetation, and fungal influence (Milanesi et al, 2006). In such cases of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, which is located in a desertification area (Wang et al, 2000), damages found on its murals include flaking (Ma and Wang, 2014), disruption (Fan et al, 2009), blister (Chen and Yu, 2008), etc. This is a task that requires exquisite skills and accurate operations to avoid manual damage to murals
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
