The statue of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

is a

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

Mario Raggi Mario Raggi (1821–26 November 1907) was an Italian sculptor who settled in England where he received several public commissions for statues of civic figures. Biography Raggi was born at Carrara, Italy where he learnt to sculpt, and won severa ...

. It is currently installed in

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

, in

Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...

Wan Chai District Wan Chai District is one of the districts of Hong Kong, 18 districts of Hong Kong. Of the four on Hong Kong Island, it is north-central, and had 152,608 residents in 2011, a fall from 167,146 residents in 2001. The district has the second-high ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, near the

Causeway Road Causeway Road () is a main road in Hong Kong. Situated in Causeway Bay, it joins Yee Wo Street in the west and King's Road. It is a boundary of Eastern District and Wan Chai District. North side of the road is Victoria Park in Eastern District ...

entrance of the park.

History

This statue was cast in

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

, London, and was originally installed at the centre of

Statue Square Statue Square (; lit. "Empress' Statue Square") is a public pedestrian square in Central, Hong Kong. Built entirely on reclaimed land at the end of the 19th century, Statue Square consists of two parts separated by Chater Road into a nort ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, the main business district of Hong Kong, where it was unveiled by then-

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

William Robinson on 28 May 1896, the day officially appointed for the celebration of the seventy-seventh birthday of Queen Victoria. During the

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surr ...

, it was taken to Japan to be melted down, along with other statues from the square. After the war, the statue of Queen Victoria was brought back to Hong Kong, but the other statues were never found. In 1952, the late Queen Victoria's statue was restored and placed in Victoria Park. In 1996, shortly before Hong Kong's handover to China, artist Pun Sing-lui () tipped red paint over the statue and smashed its nose with a hammer.Elizabeth Ho (2012) 'Neo-Victorianism and the Memory of Empire' (Continuum) Pages 1-3 Pun was a recent immigrant from

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

who had become disillusioned with

Hong Kong culture The culture of Hong Kong is primarily a mix of Chinese and Western influences, stemming from Lingnan Cantonese roots and later fusing with British culture due to British colonialism (Jyutping: ; Traditional Chinese: 粵英薈萃). As an interna ...

. The vandalism intended to serve as a protest against "dull colonial culture" and to encourage "cultural reunification with "red" China". His actions were decried as vandalism "in discord with popular opinions and the concurrent cultural atmosphere" and an "attack on Hong Kong culture". The statue was subsequently restored, at a cost of $150,000.

References

External links

* * {{Queen Victoria, state=collapsed Bronze sculptures in Hong Kong Causeway Bay Monuments and memorials in Hong Kong Outdoor sculptures in Hong Kong Sculptures of women in Hong Kong Statues in Hong Kong

Vandalized works of art

History

See also

References

External links