10: The Open Repository of the Department of the East

Garuda bird

2002

Indonesia

Height: 3.4 m; width 2 m

Carved mahogany

The sculpture of the mythological Garuda bird, considered the ancestor of all birds and the embodiment of the sunny side of nature, was carved from mahogany by the noted present-day Balinese sculptor I Made Ade Astawa. This bird, associated with the history and statehood of Indonesia, was presented to the Hermitage by Mrs Megawati Sukarnoputri, the President of Indonesia, in April 2003 for the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg.