Harmony Kingdom Bamboozled
S e c r e t sThis piece’s subject matter is a serious one, as Peter was in a serious frame of mind contemplating the near extinction of the Giant Panda. The tombstone inside inscribed “1000 to retain” and the “1000” carved on a bamboo shoot refers to what scientists believed was the number of giant pandas remaining in the mountains of China at the time of carving. (This number later changed to “1006” when six more pandas were discovered.) Not only are pandas threatened by poaching, but by the deforestation of the bamboo forests where they live. Bamboo, being the panda’s staple diet, is essential to its survival. Nonetheless, in this box figurine, the panda shares his bamboo with the mouse. On Version 1, the bamboo shoots were tinted yellow and the leaves green. Version 2 was left untinted, except for the black of the Panda. Some mould changes were made to reduce rejects during production, which included widening the space between the Panda’s arms, and bringing two leaves closer togeth