Longleat unveils heaviest ever Festival of Light lantern

The Simuwu Ding lantern, weighing five tonnes, is a scaled replica of the ancient Chinese cooking vessel first discovered in 1939.

The original bronze ding, an ancient cooking vessel with two loop handles and three or four legs, was found in Anyang, Henan Province, and was so large and heavy that it could not be moved after it was unearthed.

To protect it, locals reburied it before unearthing it again in 1945, and it is now on display in the National Museum of Chinese History.

The lantern, based on its design, features in the Shang Dynasty area of The Festival of Light, which is marking its 10th anniversary at Longleat this year.

The heaviest lantern in the history of Longleat’s Festival of Light (Image: Longleat) Daisy Mercedes, who has coordinated this year’s event at Longleat, said: "The Dings were used in Chinese Primitive Society as cooking utensils.

"At first, they were made of pottery clay. Then, as metallurgy emerged and developed, the material was changed to bronze at the end of the Shang Dynasty about 3,000 years ago.

"By that time, dings had changed function to become sacrificial vessels and the symbol of their owners' power and wealth.

"The Simuwu Rectangle Ding reveals a high level of casting technique and artistry.

"It represents the highest casting achievement of the Shang Dynasty."

The bronze ding unearthed in 1939 is 110cm long and 78cm wide, its sides are 6cm thick, and the loop handles are 133cm high.

The whole ding weighs 75kg and is the heaviest bronzeware to survive from anywhere in the ancient world.

The casting of the huge bronze vessel used more than 1,000kg of metal and needed 70 to 80 craftsmen to work on it.

It is the biggest bronzeware unearthed in China and is a treasure in the world's bronzeware collection.

Ms Mercedes added: "To be able to replicate it, along with other treasures and cultural icons from the Shang Dynasty, is a huge achievement – we needed to use cranes to lift it into position and we are sure our guests will marvel at the intricacy of the design."

The Festival of Light invites visitors to journey through time as it celebrates different eras of the earth’s evolution from the age of the dinosaurs to kings and queens, and from the Ice Age to Ancient Egypt.