Gold is a material that depicts power and permanence, which is why it has been used by cultures all over the world to create important and long-lasting monuments and statues. From the largest religious solid gold statue in the world to a newer, more modern, gold creation highlighting the pop culture of today, OROGOLD takes a look at some of the different gold monuments around the world.
Mao Zedong Gold Statue, Shenzhen, China
In 2013, the city of Shenzhen, in China, unveiled a gold and jade statue of Mao Zedong, in order to commemorate the 120th anniversary of China’s founding father. The statue is just 80 cm tall, but weighs over 50 kg, and cost over $16 million to create. The gold depiction of Mao sits on a base of white jade, which is accentuated with precious stones. A team of twenty artists worked together for eight months to build the statue – a symbol of just how far the city of Shenzhen has come since its humble beginnings as a small fishing village just a few decades ago.
Golden Buddha, Wat Traimit Temple, Bangkok, Thailand
The Golden Buddha, at the Wat Traimit Temple in Bangkok, Thailand, is the largest solid gold statue in the world. Weighing in at five and a half metric tons, the statue stands at an impressive height of almost ten feet tall, and contains more than 200,000 ounces of 18 karat gold. When priced up with the value of gold today, the statue is worth almost 300 million dollars! This incredible statue was actually lost for around 200 years, as it had been covered in plaster to hide its true value. In the 1930s, the statue was moved, and some of the plaster fell off, revealing the gold beneath. The statue is now safely housed in a new building, built specifically for this purpose, and is visited by thousands each year.
Kate Moss ‘Siren’ Gold Statue, British Museum, London, England
While the majority of the gold monuments and statues around the world are inspired by religion or history, the Siren statue at the British Museum in London, which cost over two million dollars to create, depicts something quite different. Made entirely of 18 karat gold, Siren is a depiction of Kate Moss, whom the artist wanted to present as being a ‘modern day Aphrodite’. The statue weighs around 50 kg, and is the largest gold statue that has been created since ancient Egyptian times. Kate Moss herself posed for the statue, although not in the same position, and it has been reported that she is extremely pleased with the final outcome.
Gold has been an important part of cultures and communities all over the world, which is why it is usually the favored material to use when creating an important monument. Each of the monuments that OROGOLD has mentioned is open to visitors, and are each outstandingly beautiful in their own right.
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