SLAVIC MYTHOLOGICAL CHESS - THE DREAM OF EVERY COLLECTOR

The great merit of this is due to the artists who sought inspiration from the myths and deities of Slovenian mythology. An inexhaustible source of ideas for his artistic creativity in Slovenian mythology was written by writers like Pushkin, composers, such as Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov, and especially writers of epic fiction, who brought back Perun, Svetovid, Svarog, Moran, legends of fairies, werewolves, and psyches from oblivion.

On this occasion, Serbianshop wants to introduce Belgrade-based visual artist, sculptor Jovan Petronijevic and his work. The god of the sun, the god of lightning Perun, the goddess of winter Morana, the goddess of fertility Mokos, the goddess of spring Vesna, and many other divine beings from the time of the ancient Slavs inspired the artist to start creating sculptures to wear their faces. In order to offer his works worldwide, he founded the Rod Art Workshop.

After great reactions from the media and the public, the idea was created to create an authentic Serbian brand that would offer unique souvenirs on the one hand and introduce ours and the people around the world on the other, with the wealth of Serbian and Slavic mythology.

How did the chess pieces decorated with figures of different gods of Slovenian mythology come to life?

Among the many original objects in the various forms of applied art that the art workshop "Rod" offers, special attention is drawn to the chess set with figures that have been obtained from the gods of the Slovenian pantheon.

It is a very interesting story about the idea and origin of this original piece, narrated by Jelena Petrovic, director of this project:

“The story was started by my father, sculptor Jovan Petronijevic, who in our mythology found inspiration for a whole cycle of sculptures on which he presented forgotten gods and beings from folk legends.

John sculpted figures in a continuous cycle that lasted several years and, of course, that he had no idea at first to make chess from them. That idea was born spontaneously, much later, when we saw them all together, on a table in his studio.

And then everything came to its own, the dice coincided and each of the gods, with his role in mythology and his qualities, took the place that belonged to him on that then imaginary, chessboard.

For example, SVAROG, the heavenly blacksmith, creator of humans and gods became king, and his divine couple, MOKOS (goddess of fertility, destiny, protector of mothers, children, families) queen. The king and queen became both ROD (creator) and LADA (goddess of love) who created the entire universe through the power of their own love. There are several pairs of supreme gods so there are more kings and queens.

Hunters are the most recognizable gods, whose qualities of warriors, fighters for justice and protector of people are fulfilled by gods, such as: PERUN, VELES, DAJBOG, DEVANA, STRIBOG.

Pedestrians are SVETOVID and DOMOVOJ, one warrior, the other guardian of ancestral souls, very symbolic. Even the horse was selected as Svetovids White Horse, a highly respected magical being who played a significant role in divination and preaching before going to war. ”

Otherwise, the size of the figures is from 8 to 13 cm, depending on the figure. They are made of resin, filled with plaster, they are cast by hand, from molds, and by hand the finishing is done - painting and patina. They come in two colors - silver and bronze.

Each has a trademark and signature of the author (his logo). The figures, as well as the entire chess, are protected by the Intellectual Property Office.

The chessboard is of non-standard dimensions, also made by hand, of ash wood. Each set is accompanied by a certificate signed by the author, as well as stories about slavic gods in Serbian and English.

The collaborators of the art workshop "Rod" do not hide their surprise at the interest that aroused by the appearance of these original souvenirs, inspired by the myths and personalities of Slovenian mythology. Relevant institutions and personalities from the world have expressed a desire for cooperation. But also the local public, awakened by the story of our mythology, wanted to read and learn more about the magic of this ancient time.

Because, as one researcher says:

“In the Slavic belief system, the gods created people not to be their slaves, but to be their partners in the creation of the world. The stories of the gods are actually the stories of us.”

Click here to visit our product category on Slavic Mythology