HomeCulture Work starts on world’s biggest jade statue of Buddha
Work starts on world’s biggest jade statue of Buddha
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
The Than Chau Ngoc Viet Gemstones and Jewellery
Company on Jan. 18 held a ceremony to begin the sculpting of a jade statue of
the Great Buddha Sakyamuni in the northern
province of Hai Duong.
State President Nguyen Minh
Triet and the patriarch of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha, the Most Venerable
Thich Pho Tue, removed the seal from the block of jade used for the statue.
President Triet said the sculpture of the Buddha serves not only religion but
also humankind in general, adding that it will be an extremely valuable piece
of art with a high cultural value that will last for generations.
The Than Chau Ngoc Viet Company bought the 35 tonne block of jade at a rare
gemstones fair in Myanmar
. It plans to sculpt a 16-tonne statue, which at 3m high and 2m wide with a
nine-tonne foundation will become the biggest jade statue of Buddha in the
world when completed in 2011. A group of experienced foreign artisans have been
hired for the work.
The world’s current biggest Buddha statue is 2.5m high and weighs 3.9 tonnes./.
