CHINESE MURAL ART: A CULTURAL TRIBUTE BY ROLLS-ROYCE

• Rolls-Royce presents three Chinese Mural Art Bespoke commissions
• Unique details take cues from Dunhuang cave paintings dating back
  over 1,000 years
• Trio comprises Phantom Extended, Black Badge Cullinan, and Black
  Badge Spectre
• Phantom Extended features hand-painted Gallery artwork, inspired
  by the mural art
• Available through Rolls-Royce Private Office Shanghai

 

“The mural art of the Dunhuang Mogao Caves is one of the most
powerful symbols of our cultural heritage here in China. These
artworks, created across dynasties, reflect the abstract ideals that
have shaped our country’s civilisation. Inspired by their colours,
forms and symbolism, we reimagined these themes through hand-painted
elements and carefully curated Bespoke features – a meaningful
tribute that reflects Rolls-Royce’s creative dialogue with China in
a youthful and contemporary manner.”

Shuai Feng, Bespoke Designer, Private Office Shanghai

Rolls-Royce presents three Bespoke motor cars
inspired by the ancient mural paintings of Dunhuang, China. This
extraordinary expression of cross-cultural artistry was commissioned
through Private Office Shanghai, an invitation-only space in which the
marque welcomes clients seeking to commission highly complex and
deeply personal motor cars. The trio includes Phantom Extended, Black
Badge Cullinan, and Black Badge Spectre.

All three motor cars feature new Bespoke exterior colours
reserved exclusively for Private Office Shanghai clients, each
inspired by local landscapes, art and cultural themes. These
commissions also share a recurring design motif named Silken Spirit:
conceived by Private Office Shanghai Bespoke Designer, Shuai Feng, the
artwork is inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy and the flowing forms of
imperial silk. The most detailed expression of the collection appears
in the hand-painted Gallery artwork in Phantom Extended.

HONOURING A MARVEL

Over a thousand years ago, artists and craftspeople
carved and painted the walls of a network of sacred caves in the
mountains near Dunhuang, on the edge of the Gobi Desert. These
sanctuaries house one of the world’s greatest collections of mural
art, shaped by their unique position at the cultural crossroads of the
ancient Silk Road. Today, they are honoured in a modern tribute from
the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective.

PHANTOM EXTENDED

Phantom Extended is presented in a two-tone finish.
The main body is finished in Ningye Purple, a colour inspired by the
deep violet skies above the remote stretches of the Great Wall of
China, and named after a poetic description of the hue from an 800 AD
Tang Dynasty verse. The upper body is rendered in contrasting English
White. A Silken Spirit motif is hand-painted on the C-pillar in Ningye
Purple and completes the Grace White coachline.

The motif continues into the cabin, where it is depicted in a
Bespoke Starlight Headliner with 1,344 hand-placed fibre-optic ‘stars’
and 192 ‘shooting stars’. The centrepiece of the interior is a
hand-painted Bespoke Gallery artwork. The composition presents a
landscape painting on black leather, completed with the Silken Spirit
motif embroidered in white and black thread, evoking the movement of
flying apsaras – celestial beings in Buddhist culture, which are
prominently portrayed in the mural art.

“To bring this sense of depth and rhythm to the Gallery, I adapted
a Chinese technique known as reduction block printing, where
the artwork is gradually pressed onto a canvas using the same
block of wood, re-crafted between paint layers. Once each layer is
applied, the block is carefully re-carved to add depth and detail
with the subsequent colour. Reinterpreting this method by hand, I
used a fine sable brush in place of carved wood, painting every
single colour individually and consecutively, allowing the image to
emerge across the surface. Tiny areas of unpainted leather are
deliberately left exposed, creating the illusion of carved block printing.”

Chloe Dowsett, Bespoke Artist, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

The seating is finished in Black and Cashmere Grey
leathers – a colourway that is reversed for the front seats, creating
two unique ambiences within the motor car. The front and rear doors
also feature expansive Canadel wood panelling in Piano Black and
Cashmere Grey respectively. The rear door panels incorporate the
Silken Spirit motif inlaid in stainless steel, and the symbol also
appears on the rear waterfall section between the two rear seats.

BLACK BADGE CULLINAN

Black Badge Cullinan Series II is presented in
Danqian Pink, a hue which extends to the centres of the 23-inch Black
Badge forged wheels. Silken Spirit motifs on the twin Coachline and
C-pillar are presented in Black.

The front seats are finished in Blushing Pink leather with
Placed Perforation, which extends onto the front doors. The pattern is
designed to evoke the shifting cloud formations above the Home of
Rolls-Royce at Goodwood and comprises 107,000 0.8- and 1.2-millimetre perforations.

In the rear, Navy leather with Blushing Pink piping and
stitching is used to create a deeper, more immersive environment. The
Silken Spirit graphic is inlaid in stainless steel on the Technical
Fibre front fascia and the waterfall between the rear seats.

A Bespoke Starlight Headliner harmonises the front and rear
colour themes. The Silken Spirit motif is rendered as an abstract
illuminated graphic, which glows with a soft Blushing Pink light,
complete with white shooting ‘stars’.

BLACK BADGE SPECTRE

This bold expression of Black Badge Spectre is
presented in a dramatic Aero two-tone. The body is finished in
Qingshan Blue – inspired by the mountain blues and verdant tones
depicted in the Dunhuang murals – and the upper portion, together with
Silken Spirit motifs on the C-pillar and Coachline, is presented in
contrasting Diamond Black. The exterior is further dramatised by an
Illuminated Grille, presented in Turchese.

The front seats are completed in Turchese and Black leathers,
and the rear seats are presented in Black with contrast white
stitching and piping. This unique ‘split’ extends to the leather
centre console and lambswool carpets, which are Turchese and Black respectively.

The Silken Spirit motif appears on Turchese Illuminated
Treadplates. Further illuminations include Starlight Doors and a
Bespoke Starlight Headliner with 1,344 ‘stars’ and 192 ‘shooting
stars’, each individually hand-placed.

LASTING LEGACY

The Chinese Mural Arts Bespoke Commissions represent
a cultural dialogue between past and present, East and West, tradition
and innovation. Through this trio, Rolls-Royce honours the relevance
of ancient artistic legacies and the resonance of heritage as a source
of inspiration for contemporary expressions of luxury. In doing so,
they demonstrate the power of Bespoke in translating nuanced stories
through design and craftsmanship, inviting future commissions that
explore other cultural narratives with equal depth, care and imagination.