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The New York Times reported that a pair of statues, a gift from China, has received the cold shoulder in Italy. A cultural exchange program between Ningbo and Florence has unexpectedly hit an aesthetic roadblock. Florence gave Ningbo a replica of Michelangelo's David, which Ningbo gladly accepted and erected in a public venue. In return, Ningbo, a city south of Shanghai, donated two reproductions of Tang dynasty figures. Florence residents called them "ugly and too imposing". As a result, the 13-ft tall statues have been put in a warehouse. Local officials are now worried guests from Ningbo are coming for a visit. Some netizens suggested that the disparity comes from the two pieces of art. Florence is the birthplace of European renaissance, with world-famous sculptural masterpieces, while Ningbo is not known for such art. I'm not in a position to determine the gap in the value of the two gifts. I've studied Michelangelo as part of my college course on the renaissance, but I know almost nothing about Ningbo's "Civilian bureaucrat and military officer". That does not imply the latter is less valuable artistically or financially as I'm no expert. Since both are replicas, I believe the crux lies in aesthetics, not values. The Tang statues are obviously in the Buddhist tradition, a world apart from the Greco-Roman-Renaissance axis. Putting them side by side, one needs a different set of standards to appreciate and evaluate each of them. By extension, it is understandable that putting one in the context of the other will yield jarring incongruity. | 
