THE panda is, of course, among the world’s most protected endangered animals.
It is also one of the most adored, so it comes as no surprise that legendary French glassmaker Lalique has launched The Panda collection by Han Meilin, along with the Aquatique 2 collection, both of which are now available at Rustan’s Makati.
The launch was graced by Daniel Ong, Lalique regional director for SEA and Aseana. The occasion was joined, as well, by Rustan’s Chairman and CEO Nedy Tantoco, Rustan’s Member of the Board Maritess Tantoco Enriquez, Happy Ongpauco Tiu, Margie Moran Floirendo, Joy Almario, Ana and Jaime FlorCruz, and Zelda Kienle, among others.
After years of development and all that attends such a period of waiting, Meilin’s crystal pandas have seen the light of day thanks to the savoir faire of Lalique’s master craftsmen.
Yuan-Yuan and Meng-Meng, the pandas created in the Lalique crystal works, a sitting male and a supine female, were baptized in honor of Yuan Meng, the first panda to be born in France at Beauval Zoo in 2017.
The crystal pandas are products of Meilin’s fertile imagination. Betraying a certain innocence, the Chinese artist marvels at the world through the eyes of a child.
There is a sense of tenderness that emanates from his rounded, mischievous figures. He captures a moment of life in the wild, a grooming gesture or a frolic on the ground. His gaze is open, the eyes soft and sparkling. Meilin chose the names Yuan-Yuan for the seated male panda and Meng-Meng for the little female who is lying down.
These cheerful first names, meaning “accomplishment” and “dream,” respectively, were not chosen by chance, of course. The names pay homage, quite fittingly, to Yuan Meng.