Mythological guardians Azure Dragon (east), Black Tortoise (north), Vermilion Phoenix (south) and White Tiger (west).
Royal Selangor’s Benevolence collection takes centre stage this CNY
HAVING worked on the Celestial Blessings series in 2012, Chinese artist Xu Xiao Yong once again collaborated with Royal Selangor on its new Benevolence collection for the Lunar New Year.
In this Benevolence series, Royal Selangor has curated a selection of sculpture art based on four Chinese mythological guardians to usher in the Year of the Tiger.
‘We wanted something a little bit offbeat from Chinese mythology, with a lot of meaning,’ says Royal Selangor managing director Yong Yoon Li.
He shares that the animals in the Benevolence series are based on the cardinal directions. Each direction is assigned a mythological creature as guardian – Black Tortoise (north), Vermilion Phoenix (south), Azure Dragon (east), White Tiger (west).
The stunning designs were created by Xu from Jiangxi, China, who specialises in portraying myths and legends, and draws from art’s propensity to use metaphor or stories to express an opinion or point of view.
‘We wanted something a little bit offbeat from Chinese mythology, with a lot of meaning,’ says Royal Selangor managing director Yong Yoon Li.
“When you look at this collection, the first thing you might notice about Xuan Wu (the tortoise) is that it looks mythical, whereas the snake looks rather realistic,” says Xu.
“We want them to represent the past and present respectively, and create a sort of harmony between them.”
He explains that the snake is not fighting the tortoise nor acting fierce as it is so often portrayed to be.
“They look each other in the eye, like they are communicating. It pretty much sums up the idea behind the whole collection – a dialogue between old and new, us and our ancestors. An ancient myth revisited and re-imagined by the modern people of today.”
Setting the tone of the series was the first guardian Xu designed. He tackled Xuan Wu the tortoise and saw it as an opportunity to pay homage to artisans who came before him.
The idea behind the Benevolence collection is a dialogue between old and new, us and our ancestors; ancient myth revisited and re-imagined, according to Chinese artist Xu Xiao Yong.
Xu shares that Chinese craftsmen have created gorgeous, delicate and reverent pieces of artwork of a golden tortoise carrying a stupa on its back to depict the divine encounter of Jianzhen during the Tang dynasty – the Chinese monk on a mission to propagate Buddhism in Japan.
“I first saw this masterpiece at Toshodaiji Temple in Nara (Japan) and was awed by its beauty.
“When Royal Selangor approached me about this project, the artwork had travelled all the way across the sea and landed in Shanghai Museum as part of a cultural exchange between China and Japan – very much resembling Jianzhen’s journey 1,300 years ago,” he says.
Xu took this opportunity to travel to the Shanghai Museum to admire the art piece once again.
“As a devout Buddhist and a craftsman, the instant I found the golden tortoise sitting there peacefully surrounded by Kaii Higashiyama’s breathtaking paintings, the idea of paying homage came to mind – standing on the shoulders of giants and re-creating a mythical creature based on the golden tortoise of Toshodaiji Temple,” he says.
After Xu has completed the design of all four guardians, he began the process of sculpting them.
“These sculptures are intricate and there are a lot of details not only on the surface but also the way the surfaces intersect,” says Yong.
“We use soft silicon mould to do the big pieces but after that, it requires a lot of handwork like polishing and cleaning up all the lines, while some of the items required soldering – it can all be quite laborious,” he says.
Northern guardian Black Tortoise which represents winter, midnight and water comes in graphite finish on a self-supporting base.
Vermilion Phoenix of the south is closely associated with summer and midday. Like its flaming tail, the phoenix’s natural element is fire. Comes in graphite finish on a self-supporting base.
In the west, the White Tiger personifies autumn, dusk and the metal element. It comes in graphite finish on a base of bronze-toned composite resin.
The Azure Dragon in a graphite finish bears a 24k gilt pearl orb, on a base of Nero Marquina marble. There is also a 24k gilt limited edition sculpture that comes with a pearlescent paint finish “pearl”.
According to Yong, Xu had given his creations dynamic postures, such as the dragon balancing on one leg and the phoenix on its tail.
“As we respected his concept, we did not ask Xu to modify his design. So obviously we had to make the base sturdy using marble (for Azure Dragon) along with some engineering and balancing (to keep it upright),” he adds.
Raise your gifting game this Chinese New Year with Benevolence. Each sculpture is available in two sizes. Visit a special exhibition to commemorate the collection’s launch at Royal Selangor Pavilion Kuala Lumpur now.
Pre-order the Benevolence collection at any Royal Selangor store, authorised dealer or at royalselangor.com. For more information on Benevolence, follow Royal Selangor on Instagram and Facebook.
This coming CNY
Royal Selangor has also curated its Cherish 2022 series to help you usher in the Lunar New Year.
New year, new aesthetics: Re-energise your home with beautiful centrepieces that can instantlyu plift the mood. One of Royal Selangor’s stunning vases pairs well with the Vermilion Phoenix of the Benevolence series.
Entertain with style: The key to hosting a memorable party lies in the details. Serve drinks in well-crafted and artistic drinkware that’s suitable for every theme and occasion. Decorate your table with Royal Selangor’s shot and wine glasses, decanter and champagne flute.
Toast to youth: Savour the sweet memories, no matter how big or small, with Royal Selangor’s pewter photo frames.
