Included as one of Macao’s 70 ‘Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage’ items, dough sculptures can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (202-220 BC). In the past, they were mainly used as edible ornaments, decorations or religious figurines in worship rituals, weddings and harvest celebrations. Today, however, only a few people still make dough sculptures. Macao-born Lam Iok Hoi is one of them – and he might be the only one doing it as a professional artist. Although the 73-year-old spent his whole life working as a chef, Lam no longer toils in the kitchen. Now he keeps his hands busy preserving this dying art.
