Ai Weiwei works together with TASCHEN to present new Zodiac Charm designs that draw inspiration from his sculpture from 2010 dubbed Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads. The artist continues to dive into Chinese mythology and creates a selection of charms that can be wearable but also representative of ancient narratives.

The historical significance of the zodiac is represented in the design and all of the charms are made in a hand-cast 999 pure gold form. Each one is based on the animal figures that are from the artist’s earlier work. The charms are detailed with an animal sign and on the other side is its respective ancient Chinese calligraphy to honor the mythological race of the zodiac and its order of the 12 Earthly Branches.

Image Credit: TASCHEN