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Massive boulders, shipped from as far away as the Northwest Territories, echo the curvaceous form of the museum building, its rough-hewn limestone surface meant to recall a cliff face sculptured by the wind. (From ACT TEST)

Why is "meant" used here? I don't think here it is a past tense because there will be two independent clauses not connected by conjunctions; so the only possible option left is past participle, but why not use present participle "meaning"?

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  • Meant is used here to mean intended. eg. I meant to leave early = I intended to leave early. The purpose of the surface is to suggest/recall a cliff face..... – Ronald Sole Nov 9 '20 at 22:42
  • @RonaldSole Yeah except it is a past participle here. "That cake is meant for you." – Eddie Kal♦ Nov 9 '20 at 22:57
  • @ Eddie Kal♦ I agree it is a past participle, but where is the auxiliary verb "be"? But adding "be", there'll be two independent sentences – HypnoticBuggyWraithVirileBevy Nov 10 '20 at 0:01
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its rough-hewn limestone surface meant to recall a cliff face sculptured by the wind.

This is not a complete sentence but an absolute clause which loosely linked to the main sentence in terms of syntax. I think it can be rewritten as:

and its rough-hewn limestone surface is meant to recall a cliff face sculptured by the wind.

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    Glad you figured it out yourself. And you did the right thing coming back and telling us in an answer what you've come to understand. +1 for the effort. By the way, you should note the clause is an absolute clause. – Eddie Kal♦ Dec 26 '20 at 2:56

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