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 her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

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 ...

by Mario Raggi. It is currently installed in Victoria Park, in

Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is an area and a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern and the Wan Chai districts. It is a major shopping, leisure and cultural centre in Hong Kong, with a number of major shopping centres. Th ...

, Wan Chai District,

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 List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

, 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 Victor ...

, 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 n ...

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 a ...

, 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, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce ...

, 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 China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

who had become disillusioned with Hong Kong culture. 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