The Golden-winged Garuda Necklace | The ultimate guardian of faith.

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 The ultimate guardian of faith

DESIGN

The leader of all guardian deities

The Garuda with golden wings is called "Qiong" in Tibetan, it feeds on dragons and symbolizes all wisdom and wrathful deities. It is a powerful tool for accomplishing tasks and is a formidable enemy of all kinds of dragon, demons, and diseases. The Tibetan people believe that wearing "Qiong" will protect them from any harm caused by negative energies. The Garuda with golden wings is known as the chief protector deity and is a symbol of victory over all obstacles.

The Chinle brand originated from Dzongsar

Picture of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo

Special bronze casting technique

In history, it is rare to add precious metals such as gold and silver into bronze alloys. Generally speaking, authentic Buddhist statues in Tibetan Buddhism have been made of bronze for the past few centuries. The metal composition of various temples' founders and eminent monks varies, resulting in different textures, scents, colors, and sheens of bronze. Qingle's bronze technology originates from the teachings and inheritance secrets passed down by the first Sangha Rinpoche (Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo) in the 19th century, and it is one of the few remaining bronze inheritance technologies in the entire Tibetan region.

According to the teachings of Master Khyentse Wangpo, bronze is not made solely of copper, but also requires the addition of seven main precious metal materials including gold, silver, tin, zinc, lead, brass, and bronze (old copper) for mixing and refining.

 

Sand casting process

Quxi is helping her husband prepare materials. The fire-resistant red sand was collected from the nearby mountain. It needs to be crushed and filtered. After filtering the sand, Quxi sprinkles water in the soil and mixes it with her hands.

After the soil has been thoroughly mixed with water overnight to ensure better cohesion, the artist places a pre-prepared model on the smoothed soil. And thus, the process of sand molding begins.

This wooden frame mold, known as a flask, is used to pack sand into the mold. Charcoal powder is used to separate the damp sand in order to prevent it from sticking to the pattern.

The soil is pounded with wooden sticks to form molds. Once a square mold is created, skilled craftsmen will remove it from the wooden tray and use knives to make the shape more smooth and rounded. The shape or smoothness of the mold exterior does not affect the casting process, but it is part of aesthetics.

Once the mold is formed, a craftsman will create a sprue, which is the channel through which molten metal is poured during casting.

The mold is dried overnight, and the temperature on the stove is relatively low. Before casting, the mold is ignited again at high temperatures on the stove, and the copper is melted. The mold is tightly bound with rubber bands. Then the melted metal is poured into the empty mold. During the casting process, visitors are not allowed. Craftsmen believe that visitors will bring bad luck to the casting. In the past, to prevent unexpected visitors, they would leave a sign at the studio door to signal visitors.

Opening the mold is an exciting and nerve-wracking moment. It's like getting exam results - if it fails, all the work will be wasted. If the mold is clear, it will save a lot of time in the later meticulous carving process.

After casting, artists begin the most difficult process of fine carving using various tools to hammer, press, or refine the patterns to make them more clear and exquisite. Maixiu's Tibetan metal casting is famous both far and near, with nearly 200 metal carving craftsmen.

Finally, the pendant is polished using various tools, such as files, polishing, and leather. The polishing work is usually done by retired elderly people who have left heavy labor. And that's how a large Peng Jinchi protective pendant made by the Qingle sand casting method is completed.