Shishi Pair and the Treasure Ball Sleeve
Shishi Pair and the Treasure Ball Sleeve
Shishi Pair and the Treasure Ball Sleeve
The Lion, the Lioness, and the Ball
In temple sculpture the shishi pair is never two copies of the same animal. One is male, holding the treasure ball. One is female, guarding a cub. This sleeve follows that older, stricter version of the pairing. Two different characters share one arm, and the story between them is what the design is about.
The Lion, the Lioness, and the Ball
In temple sculpture the shishi pair is never two copies of the same animal. One is male, holding the treasure ball. One is female, guarding a cub. This sleeve follows that older, stricter version of the pairing. Two different characters share one arm, and the story between them is what the design is about.
Shoulder Cap to Wrist
A full sleeve from the top of the shoulder down to the wrist, closing on a clean line at the shoulder without extending onto the chest. The lions sit in a dark cloud background, with peonies placed at the shoulder, the elbow, and the forearm. The palette is deliberately quiet: black, grey, warm earth tones in the lions, and one muted red carried by the flowers.
Shoulder Cap to Wrist
A full sleeve from the top of the shoulder down to the wrist, closing on a clean line at the shoulder without extending onto the chest. The lions sit in a dark cloud background, with peonies placed at the shoulder, the elbow, and the forearm. The palette is deliberately quiet: black, grey, warm earth tones in the lions, and one muted red carried by the flowers.
Seven Treasures in the Round
The male lion plays with the hoshu no tama, the wish-granting ball, marked with the shippo pattern: seven treasures, an unbroken chain of harmony. That small sphere is the conceptual center of the sleeve. It gives the fierce animals a purpose beyond ferocity: they are keepers, not hunters. The peonies do the same work they always do next to shishi - the king of beasts beside the king of flowers - but here their red is dimmed to keep the whole piece in one tonal world.
Seven Treasures in the Round
The male lion plays with the hoshu no tama, the wish-granting ball, marked with the shippo pattern: seven treasures, an unbroken chain of harmony. That small sphere is the conceptual center of the sleeve. It gives the fierce animals a purpose beyond ferocity: they are keepers, not hunters. The peonies do the same work they always do next to shishi - the king of beasts beside the king of flowers - but here their red is dimmed to keep the whole piece in one tonal world.
Two Bodies on a Turning Surface
An arm is a cylinder that never stops rotating, and a pair of animals has to survive that. Each lion owns its own section of the arm, so from the front, the side, or the back you always read a complete figure, never two halves fighting for attention. The cloud background carries the eye through the transitions, and the peonies mark the joints: shoulder, elbow, wrist. The clean stop at the shoulder cap keeps the sleeve self-contained, a finished garment rather than a fragment of something larger.
Two Bodies on a Turning Surface
An arm is a cylinder that never stops rotating, and a pair of animals has to survive that. Each lion owns its own section of the arm, so from the front, the side, or the back you always read a complete figure, never two halves fighting for attention. The cloud background carries the eye through the transitions, and the peonies mark the joints: shoulder, elbow, wrist. The clean stop at the shoulder cap keeps the sleeve self-contained, a finished garment rather than a fragment of something larger.
Seven Sessions, One Rhythm
The sleeve took seven sessions from first outline to final color. The order was classical: structure first, then the black of the clouds, then the bodies of the lions, and the color last. Working in a muted palette makes the sequence less forgiving, since there are no bright accents to hide unevenness. Every layer had to sit clean.
Seven Sessions, One Rhythm
The sleeve took seven sessions from first outline to final color. The order was classical: structure first, then the black of the clouds, then the bodies of the lions, and the color last. Working in a muted palette makes the sequence less forgiving, since there are no bright accents to hide unevenness. Every layer had to sit clean.
A Talisman That Ages Well
The finished sleeve reads as one continuous piece of protection: two guardians, a treasure between them, flowers holding the rhythm. The restrained palette is a long-term decision. Quiet color settles into the skin gracefully, and the black cloud ground will keep the figures sharp for decades.
A Talisman That Ages Well
The finished sleeve reads as one continuous piece of protection: two guardians, a treasure between them, flowers holding the rhythm. The restrained palette is a long-term decision. Quiet color settles into the skin gracefully, and the black cloud ground will keep the figures sharp for decades.
More Projects
Other large-scale pieces from the studio, each built as one composition.
More Projects
Other large-scale pieces from the studio, each built as one composition.
More Projects
Other large-scale pieces from the studio, each built as one composition.
Your Piece Is Next
Every project here began as one conversation. Yours can start the same way.
Your Piece Is Next
Every project here began as one conversation. Yours can start the same way.
Your Piece Is Next
Every project here began as one conversation. Yours can start the same way.
© 2026 All Rights Reserved | Bardadim.Tattoo
© 2026 All Rights Reserved | Bardadim.Tattoo
© 2026 All Rights Reserved | Bardadim.Tattoo