Bronze statue of Melania Trump unveiled in Slovenia

SEVNICA, Slovenia (Reuters) - A life-size rough bronze sculpture of U.S. first lady Melania Trump was unveiled near her hometown of Sevnica in southeastern Slovenia on Tuesday to replace a wooden figure which was set on fire in July.

The wooden sculpture of Trump was torched on the night of July 4, as Americans celebrated U.S. Independence Day.

Standing on a 2.8 metre-high wooden pillar, the new bronze statue has rough features and a face unrecognisable as the first lady.

Next to it is a plaque reading "This statue is dedicated to the eternal memory of a monument to Melania which stood in this location".

The original wooden statue commissioned by Berlin-based American artist Brad Downey was carved with a chainsaw by local folk artist Ales Zupevc.

The wooden figure was painted with a pale blue wraparound coat resembling the one Trump wore at the swearing in of her husband U.S. President Donald Trump. The new bronze statue has no colours.

In January, a large wooden statue resembling Donald Trump and designed by a local artist in 2019, was burnt in Slovenia's city of Moravce, east of the capital Ljubljana.

(Reporting by Borut Zivulovic; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)