Bronze Statue of the Twelve Zodiac Beasts in Yuanmingyuan - Rabbit Head

Bronze Statue of the Twelve Zodiac Beasts in Yuanmingyuan - Rabbit Head

Originally part of the fountain outside the Haiyan Hall of the Yuanmingyuan. The bronze statue of the rabbit's head represents the hour of Mao (from 5:00 to 7:00) 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 copper statue with a rabbit head symbolizes agility and speed, symbolizing hope and joy. In 1860, the Anglo French coalition invaded China and set fire to the Yuanmingyuan, causing the loss of the rabbit head bronze statue overseas. On April 26, 2013, the French Pinault family announced that they would donate a rabbit head to the Chinese government without compensation. On June 28 of the same year, they officially donated a bronze statue of the rabbit head to China, which is currently housed in the National Museum of China.