.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Accompanied by a Namiki Certificate of Authenticity, Namiki lifetime guarantee, product literature, ink dropper, Namiki wooden presentation box, and outer packaging.
Each of these pens is signed by the artist with the organization on the right, Light of the Nation in three characters, and the artists signature, two characters on the left. The red character is a seal.
The pavilion holds a special place in Asian art history where traditionally it is the place to observe and to develop connoisseurship. A pavilion in the mountains is a place to contemplate the beauty of nature which holds a special meaning when vistas become obscured with mists. What is observed is what cannot be seen and therefore this pen depicts the contemplation of the void.
The Emperor Collection Pavilion Maki-e fountain pen has been produced entirely within the Hiratsuka Japan Maki-e workshops, and is of the finest Maki-e artistry available. Maki-e, the traditional Japanese art of lacquering is a technique in which patterns are first drawn on a surface with "wrushi," (sap from a Japanese lacquer tree). Powdered gold, silver, and colored pigments are then applied to the drawing while the wrushi is still moist. The present pen has been meticulously crafted where up to four months was required to design and hand paint the artwork. Each one unique, no two hand-painted pens are exactly alike and they are of very limited production. The Pavilion design is executed in the charcoal burnished Maki-e technique where gilded patterns are dried, recoated with wrushi, and finally burnished to a high sheen using charcoal. This style dates to the 7th century. The spreading of gold dust on a precise area and to desired intensity is a skill which requires great expertise. Namiki developed the lacquers in 1925 and has since earned an international reputation for producing the finest Maki-e decorated fountain pens available.
Each of these pens is signed by the artist with the organization on the right, Light of the Nation in three characters, and the artists signature, two characters on the left. The red character is a seal.
The pavilion holds a special place in Asian art history where traditionally it is the place to observe and to develop connoisseurship. A pavilion in the mountains is a place to contemplate the beauty of nature which holds a special meaning when vistas become obscured with mists. What is observed is what cannot be seen and therefore this pen depicts the contemplation of the void.
The Emperor Collection Pavilion Maki-e fountain pen has been produced entirely within the Hiratsuka Japan Maki-e workshops, and is of the finest Maki-e artistry available. Maki-e, the traditional Japanese art of lacquering is a technique in which patterns are first drawn on a surface with "wrushi," (sap from a Japanese lacquer tree). Powdered gold, silver, and colored pigments are then applied to the drawing while the wrushi is still moist. The present pen has been meticulously crafted where up to four months was required to design and hand paint the artwork. Each one unique, no two hand-painted pens are exactly alike and they are of very limited production. The Pavilion design is executed in the charcoal burnished Maki-e technique where gilded patterns are dried, recoated with wrushi, and finally burnished to a high sheen using charcoal. This style dates to the 7th century. The spreading of gold dust on a precise area and to desired intensity is a skill which requires great expertise. Namiki developed the lacquers in 1925 and has since earned an international reputation for producing the finest Maki-e decorated fountain pens available.