Dashi Namdakov, Siberian artist5

1. 5 Dashi Namdakov, Siberian artist

2. 5 DashiNamdakov (born 1967) is a Russian sculptor, graphic artist and jeweler

3. Dashi’s artworks are kept at the State Hermitage (Saint-Petersburg), the State Museum of Oriental Arts (Moscow), the Russian Museum of modern Art (Moscow), the Chi-May Museum (Taiwan) and in private collections in Russia and abroad. 2013 Awarded the Order of Mongolia "the Polar Star" for many years of fruitful work in the development of the Buryat-Mongolian cooperation in the field of culture and arts. In 2013 awarded the title of the main sculptor at the International Award Ceremony "Pietrasanta and Versilia in the World", Italy. The list of winners is an impressive collection of Italian and International sculptors. Fernando Botero, Igor Mitoraj, Marc Quinn also have been recipients of the prize  DashiNamdakov (1967), is a Russian sculptor, graphic artist and jeweler, graduated from the Krasnoyarsk Institute of Fine Arts, Member of the Russian Union of Artists. Dashi’s first solo show in a Siberian city of Irkutsk in 2000 became a sensation in the art world. The flawless plasticity and “jeweler’s” precision of his works have soon won the author the reputation of a leading Russian sculptor. The heritage of the Central Asian nomadic empire influences the author’s works. Nomads interacted with the terrestrial, celestial and underground worlds following common everlasting laws of transformation, death and miraculous revival. This sacral process is reflected in the dynamics of Dashi’s sculptural compositions.

4. Little Buddha Within Buddhism it is believed that any child up to the age of five has an untroubled mind and can become a Buddha by reaching enlightenment

5. In this sculpture depicting an infant sleeping on the back of a large lion, every detail is symbolic. The lion, or ‘Buddha’s dog’, functions as guardian of the Teaching and thus protector of the faith. Under its right paw, a round object represents the universe, although here it looks more like a ball that is about to clatter down off the pedestal, and the lion’s paw cradles it so as not to wake the child nestled in its mane. The lion grins in a half-smile, warning that it is friendly as long as nobody disturbs the infant. Sticking out sharply from the huge head, the animal’s ears are alert to capture any sounds. This is a cautious creature, protecting the future of all humanity.

6. Little Buddha was installed in 2011 in Ivolginsky Datsan, Ulan-Ude, Russia Ivolginsky datsan is the Buddhist Temple located in Buryatia, Russia, 23 km from Ulan Ude. The datsan was opened in 1945 as the only Buddhist spiritual centre of the USSR. In the course of time the little "Khambin's sume" changed into the Monastic centre with a residence of Pandido Khambo lama, the leader of all Russian Lamas.

7. Monumental sculpture Little Buddha installed in the Ivolginsky Datsan (Buddhist temple), Republic of Buryatia in 2011

8. The Buddhist university «Dashi Choinkhorling» was opened in 1991 attached to the datsan

9. 2012 Awarded the State Prize of the Government of the Republic of Buryatia in the field of the Fine Art for the sculpture composition “Little Buddha”.

10. Buddhist tradition is openly referenced in the 2008 sculpture Four Friends (Tunshe), erected in Aginsk to mark the centenary of the local datsan.

11. Monumental sculpture Friendship installed in Aginsk, Russia

12. The four harmonious animals figure is a Buddhist legend, or Jataka tale, which can often be found as subject in Tibetan art. This is a popular Tibetan scene which is often found as wall painting in Tibetan religious buildings and represents an elephant standing under a fruit tree carrying a monkey, a hare and a bird on top of each other.

13. The scene refers to a Buddhist legend which tells that four animals were trying to find out who could be considered as being the oldest. The elephant said that the tree was already fully grown when he was young, the monkey that the tree was small when he was young, the hare that he saw the tree as a sapling when he was young and the bird claimed that he had carried the seed from which the tree grew.

14. So the bird was recognized by the other animals as the oldest, and the four animals lived together in harmony, helping each other to enjoy the fruits of the tree.

15. In Tibetan this group of four animals is normally referred to four harmonious brothers The primary source for the Buddhist legend of the four harmonious brothers is the Vinayavastu which forms the first section of the Kanjur the canon of Tibetan Buddhism

16. Centaur with a stone Hermitage

17. Monumental sculpture Khanshaim installed in Astana, Kazakhstan

18. 2008Monumental sculpture Khanshaim installed in Astana, Kazakhstan This 15-tonne sculpture consists of a colossal figure of a bull – symbol of fertility – on whose back stands the mythical queen Khanshaim.

20. Her throne is guarded by leopards with swords in their grinning jaws. According to legend the nomadic Saka peoples, who are the ancestors of the modern Kazakhs, won many victories under the leadership of their courageous and strong-minded leader, the warrior queen Tomyris. She united scattered tribes into one of the first states in the area that is now Kazakhstan.

21. With the passing of time, her image has merged with those of all legendary women treasured in the memories of the people. The monument pays tribute to the idea of woman as ‘foremother’ and protector.

22. Tomyris was a queen who reigned over the Massagetae, a pastoral-nomadic Iranian people of Central Asia east of the Caspian Sea, in approximately 530 BC. In Turkic countries like Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the queen of Massagetae is revered as a national heroine.

23. Many Greek historians recorded that she "defeated and killed" the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great during his invasion and attempted conquest of her country. Herodotus, who lived from approximately 484 to 425 BC, is the earliest of the classical writers to give an account of her career, writing almost one hundred years later. Her history was well known and became legendary. Strabo, Polyaenus, Cassiodorus, and Jordanes) also wrote of her

25. Dashi's creative work is unique. He is a sculptor - a graphic artist, a jeweler and a designer in one person

26. “Royal Hunting” at the Piazza Duomo in Pitrasanta from December 15, 2013 to January 24, 2014

27. This monumental sculptural composition is dedicated to the heroic myth of the Eurasian ancient nomads. The audience witnesses the riders - him and her – who participate in the falconry in their solemn vestments. They are chasing rapidly.

28. The monumental bronze statue “Royal Hunting” graces the Piazza in Pietrasanta, before its final collocation in Kyzyl. The work depicts a King and Queen, with a retinue of felines, at the hunt, the whole intricately rendered ensemble exudes grace and power. The bronze was cast at the FonderiaMariani, in Pietrasanta.

29. Maria Menshikova of the State Hermitage Museum in Russia wrote: “The art of Dashi is eternal. In some degree the chronology doesn’t matter: the time is different in the steppe. Do the legends of ancient nomads, epic tales, and stories of Genghis Khans’ war campaigns tell of the past or near time? … Many features and parallels that we observe in DashiNamdakov’s works are subconscious … they are … echo of the culture of the past epochs …”

31. The author introduces the images of ancient history and culture of his ancestors, by plunging into a fierce and majestic energy of the mythical royal ritual.

34. Text and pictures: Internet Copyright: All the images belong to their authors Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanu https://www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda https://ma-planete.com/michaelasanda 2014 Sound: Huun Huur Tu - Mountain Story