Peacocks

The Peacocks collection draws inspiration from two celebrated masterpieces of Japanese painting: Itō Jakuchū's Colorful Realm of Living Beings and Tani Bunchō's Peacocks and Peonies (牡丹に孔雀図). Though separated by artistic style and temperament, both works reflect a profound reverence for the natural world, where every feather, blossom, and leaf is observed with extraordinary sensitivity. Drawing upon these two traditions, Ekin creates an original composition that brings together Jakuchū's meticulous study of living creatures with Bunchō's lyrical elegance, celebrating one of East Asia's most enduring symbols of beauty, nobility, and harmony.

At the heart of the composition, a pair of peacocks stands among flowering peonies, a motif long cherished in both Chinese and Japanese art. The peacock has traditionally symbolized dignity, prosperity, and virtue, while the paired birds evoke harmony, enduring companionship, and the balance of complementary qualities. Surrounding them, the peony—revered as the "king of flowers"—has for centuries represented honor, abundance, and flourishing beauty. Together, birds and blossoms create a composition that is at once majestic and serene, where symbolic meaning is expressed through the quiet elegance of the natural world.

Rather than preserving the peonies' traditional crimson and rose palette, Ekin transforms them into sculptural blossoms rendered entirely in gold. Alternating matte and polished finishes introduce layers of relief that reveal the flowers through form rather than color, giving each petal a quiet sculptural presence. This bold treatment is balanced by the extraordinary delicacy of the peacocks themselves. Inspired by the remarkable naturalism of Jakuchū's paintings, the plumage is composed through an exceptionally refined vocabulary of Kinka stitchwork. Every feather is individually articulated, with the white peacock rendered in such fine detail that its plumage recalls the luminous softness of woven silk gauze. The interplay between sculptural peonies and ethereal feathers creates a striking dialogue of weight and lightness, demonstrating the expressive range of the Kinka technique.

The Peacocks collection celebrates the meeting of two remarkable artistic traditions through a contemporary work of craftsmanship. Rooted in the masterpieces of Japanese painting yet composed as an original work, it reflects an enduring appreciation for the beauty of the natural world—where richness is found not only in color, but in texture; not only in ornament, but in thoughtful restraint; and where every blossom and feather reveals itself through careful observation.