Bronze statue of the twelve zodiac animal heads in Yuanmingyuan - pig head

Bronze statue of the twelve zodiac animal heads in Yuanmingyuan - pig head

Originally part of the fountain outside the Haiyan Hall of the Yuanmingyuan. The pig head bronze statue represents the hour of Hai (21:00 to 23:00) and is one of the twelve zodiac bronze statues. It was designed by European missionary, Italian Lang Shining, supervised by French Jiang Youren, and produced by Qing court craftsmen. The pig head bronze statue symbolizes wealth and auspiciousness, and is an important symbol in traditional Chinese culture. In 1860, the Anglo French coalition invaded China and set fire to the Old Summer Palace, causing the loss of pig head bronze statues overseas. In 2003, Macau entrepreneur Dr. Stanley Ho purchased a pig head bronze statue and donated it to the Poly Art Museum, allowing the pig head bronze statue to return to China.