Shangdong Forged Copper Vase by Olaer / Elmer Anthony
Size
Length: 1.35m
Width: 1.35m
Height: 1.999m
The gift was presented by the Provincial Government of Shandong to celebrate Macao’s return to the People’s Republic of China. This copper work was forged using the traditional archaising techniques of Shangdong. Archaising is a process composed of casting, drawing, carving and inlaying works to imitate the rare copper arts of ancient time. Copper wares of ancient time are different in shape, decoration pattern and gloss. When imitating this style, different skills are required in order to achieve best possible resemblance. The diverse archaising techniques in Shangdong have earned the area a good reputation around the world.
This copper vase is an imitation of the shape of the cockatoo vases in ancient China. The patterns on the vase include the flower of Macao (the lotus) and Shangdong scenery such as Daming Lake, Taishan Mountain, Qufu, Confucius Temple and Penglai Pavilion. The unity of these designs symbolises the brotherhood of Shangdong and Macao. The upper round and the lower square shapes represent the sky and the earth which constitute an everlasting universe. The mouth of the vase looks like a blossoming lotus to symbolise Macao’s prosperity. The arms on both sides represent phoenixes flying back home. The dragon embossments on the lower part of the vase body represent the People’s Republic of China and together with the Shangdong scenery carved on the neck and the feet of the vase, the work symbolises the unity of the province and Macao. The vase is 1.999 meters in height to commemorate the year 1999. The vase weighs 880 kilograms to express the good wishes of the 88,000,000 people in Shangdong.
Lotus Square (中文: 金蓮花廣場) is a tourist attraction, one of the Town squares in Macau, Macao. It is located: 198 km from Shenzhen, 282 km from Dongguan, 322 km from Guangzhou. Read further
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