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[June 2004]
Herend Hands Over Giant Commemorative Vase to EC
On 17 June 2004, the Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy formally handed over to the European Commission the 'European Union Giant Vase', made by the Herend Porcelain Manufactory. On behalf of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister handed over the vase to the President of the EC, Romano Prodi.
The huge vase is described as a characteristically Hungarian ornamental object. Its so-called 'noble embroidery' embodies the treasury of patterns of various European peoples, a reference to the mutual cultural roots and common way of thinking. The contours of the 25 European Union states can be found in the pattern, into which the designers have written a few lines from each country's national anthem, using their own style of writing.
The vase, whose form's original designer was Tibor Bruck, is 205cm in height, 61.5cm in diameter and weighs in at 51kg. This is the fifth version of the vase, previous ones having being manufactured for the (then believed) 125th anniversary of Herend, a replica ordered by the Sultan of Brunei, a millennium presentation to the Hungarian people and a presentation to the German Bundestadt in 2002.
ENDS