YUKARI
SERIES - BAMBOO MAKI-E
The fountain
pens in the Yukari collection by Pilot / Namiki are delicate works of art,
signed by their author, whose motif, borrowed from the symbols of Japanese
tradition, has been engraved free-hand on copper-plate. The ink is fed
either by a piston converter or by a cartridge.
Each
of the Yukari fountain pens requires, as do the Emperors, three months and
sometimes more of expert, loving and minute craftsmanship. Such is the time
that must be devoted to bringing to perfection the ornamental grace, true to
the Maki-e craft, mingling polychromatic lacquers and gold dust.
The
Maki-e, a decorating technique patiently refined by Nipponese artists over
the centuries, came to full bloom in the 14th and 15th centuries A. D.,
when, as it was highly sought by the aristocracy, it came to enrich the
looks of the implements used in the tea ceremony. Maki-e is part and parcel
of the cultural heritage of old Japan. It involves no less than thirty some
different processes, that concur in decors of utmost subtlety and unrivalled
luxury.
Patiently
and serenely adorned following the rules of that ancestral craft, the
fountain pens in the Yukari collection sing in praise of a civilisation
foregone. Only those to whom time is irrelevant may decorate with
infinitesimal paintbrush strokes, these loving birds, symbol of longevity,
fruitful life, borrowed from the mythology of ancient Japan.
