VIDEO: ‘World’s Largest Sculptured Acoustic Anvil’ found new home in B.C.

Possibly the world’s largest sculptured acoustic anvil – still to be decided by Guinness World Records – has found its new home outside the BC Farm Museum located in Fort Langley.

On March 13, George Third and Son employees delivered the anvil and carefully placed it outside the museum just beside the sign.

Syd Pickerell, member and volunteer of the museum, shared his gratitude with Rob Third, son of George, for organizing the delivery.

Moving the anvil was a spontaneous decision made last June, Pickerell said, when it had come up and Rob offered it to the museum.

“I (asked), ‘how we are going to get it out here, it’s 14,000 pounds?’ And he said, ‘we’ll look after everything, don’t worry.’ And he did,” Pickerell said.

The anvil is hollow and made of steel, a solar panel and some electrical components. When working, the anvil emits the faint sound of the ocean through the spiral sound hole.

It was designed by artist Maskull Lasserre in 2018 as part of an art display for Vancouver Biennale, where it resided for two years. Then the anvil was moved to False Creek, where it remained for another two years before it was brought to Burnaby.

The anvil stands 25 feet long, 13 feet tall and nine feet wide.

Lasserre titled the piece Acoustic Anvil: A Small Weight to Forge the Sea to represent the physical convergence of both real and imagined histories.

“The physical heft of an enormous anvil recalls the geometry of ship hulls and naval mooring bollards. Cut through the anvil’s outwardly solid core is a violin’s f-hole which transforms this familiar object into something more ambiguous,” reads Lasserre’s website.

“It becomes a tool-turned-instrument where the rolling sound of the sea distinctively resonates from its solid mass.”

Pickerell explained the anvil is also a symbol of early pioneer life, when everything was made on an anvil before welders, and said it fits in well at the farm museum.

“This anvil is a welcoming symbol out in front of our farm museum. We’ve applied to Guinness World Records to classify it as ‘World’s Largest Sculptured Anvil’ and we hope lots of people come by to have their photo taken with it,” he said.

Volunteers of the museum will begin sandblasting the anvil before painting it black. Pickerell said they will also install a plaque with some information on it and credit to the artist.

Pickerell and other volunteers thanked the nearby construction company for their donation of concrete to create the slab which the anvil rests on.

The BC Farm Museum is closed for the season, but will re-open April 1, for its regular hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Learn more at bcfma.com.

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