The House Chamber has recently been fully restored to the way it looked when first created in 1859. The plaster lotus blossom in the center of the ceiling includes petals that weigh approximately 500 pounds each. From its center hangs the original bronze and gilt gas chandelier by Cornelius and Baker of Philadelphia. It includes allegorical figures of commerce, Prudence, Eloquence and Science alternating with four copies of Hiram Powers' famous statue of the Greek Slave, an abolitionaist statement in the pre-Civil War building. On the underside of the chandelier are eight copies of Vermont's coat-of-arms. The historic portrait of George Washington was rescued from the fire that destroyed the previous statehouse in 1857. Carried frame and all from the burning building, this 1836 copy of Gilbert Stuart's original was rehung in the same location in the present State House, above the Speakers' rostrum. Above it is the coat of arms, carved of pine, painted and gilded for the chamber in 1859. The carpet, draperies and upholstered furniture are all just as they were originally.