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Lot 1129Ω
DUNHILL-NAMIKI: Golden Geisha and Sakura Blossoms Takamaki-e and Aogai Vest Fountain Pen, Original Pouch and Box, c.1928
16 June 2015, 10:00 PDT
San FranciscoSold for US$31,250 inc. premium
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DUNHILL-NAMIKI: Golden Geisha and Sakura Blossoms Takamaki-e and Aogai Vest Fountain Pen, Original Pouch and Box, c.1928
One of the most fascinating Namiki pens we have ever offered. The raised takamaki-e work is exceptional, worthy of an A-grade masterwork. The Geisha motif is highly-prized, as is the cherry blossom (sakura) motif; together, the complimentary motifs create a wonderfully harmonious synthesis embodying the Japanese sensibility of mono no aware (the poignance of perishable beauty). The lacquer work was not applied over an ebonite base, as is typically the case; rather, the base material is metal, possibly copper, which gives the pen a weighty balance and substantiality that makes it a pleasure to hold (metal bodied Namikis are rare, the ratio of metal to ebonite-based pens being perhaps 1:40). The aogai technique, with tiny fragments of inlaid mother-of-pearl, demonstrates the highest ability, and even the four tiny breather holes on the cap seem part of the overall composition, making this as close to a perfect Namiki vest pen as one is likely to find.
Additional interest is lent by the original leather pen etui, or pouch, bearing a bright and crisp Namiki imprint, and the original brown morocco leather pen box, with a recessed compartment specially designed to hold both pen and etui, lined in cream satin imprinted "By Appointment / To The Late King George V. / Carrington & Co. Ltd. / 130, Regent St. W.I." While pre-Dunhill Namiki pens co-branded by Asprey and Cartier are known to have circulated between 1925 and 1928, prior to the collaboration between Alfred Dunhill Ltd. and Namiki, it is rare to find a Dunhill-Namiki pen in a rival retailer's contemporary bespoke box. The hand-stitching of the Namiki etui and the expensive craftsmanship of the custom box illustrate the high regard in which this pen was held, reinforcing the pen's probable A-grade status.
Although unsigned, this pen displays the highest level of craft. The urushi-covered metal barrel and cap are fully ornamented in the kinji technique, with highly-polished reflective gold dust, and the Geisha is rendered in excellent raised takamaki-e, with vermillion and black robes and superlative aogai details. She holds aloft a fan illustrated with an image of Mount Fuji, the most honored and profound emblem of Japan. 14K rolled gold cap band, classic "lifebuoy" lever, 14K Dunhill-Namiki heart-vent nib. 105mm. A rare and spectacular instrument.
Provenance: From the Collection of a Gentleman.
-Murakami, Tomihiro. Dunhill-Namiki and Lacquer Pens. [Sakura City: 2000]. See pp. 10-12 for details on several techniques used in making this pen.
-Hutt, Julia & Stephen Overbury. Namiki: The Art of Lacquer Pens. [Toronto: 2000]. See p. 41 for an image of a similar pen on silver rather than gold kinji ground from the Pilot Pen Museum archives.
-Larquemin, Christophe. The Four Seasons of Namiki. [Paris: 2009]. See p. 164 for observations on a similar Geisha pen commissioned by Rudyard Kipling.
-Canton, Jean-François. Namiki: The Poignant Beauty of Fragile Things. [Aurillac: 2013]. See p. 9 for remarks on the cultural and aesthetic significance of the falling cherry blossom motif.
Additional interest is lent by the original leather pen etui, or pouch, bearing a bright and crisp Namiki imprint, and the original brown morocco leather pen box, with a recessed compartment specially designed to hold both pen and etui, lined in cream satin imprinted "By Appointment / To The Late King George V. / Carrington & Co. Ltd. / 130, Regent St. W.I." While pre-Dunhill Namiki pens co-branded by Asprey and Cartier are known to have circulated between 1925 and 1928, prior to the collaboration between Alfred Dunhill Ltd. and Namiki, it is rare to find a Dunhill-Namiki pen in a rival retailer's contemporary bespoke box. The hand-stitching of the Namiki etui and the expensive craftsmanship of the custom box illustrate the high regard in which this pen was held, reinforcing the pen's probable A-grade status.
Although unsigned, this pen displays the highest level of craft. The urushi-covered metal barrel and cap are fully ornamented in the kinji technique, with highly-polished reflective gold dust, and the Geisha is rendered in excellent raised takamaki-e, with vermillion and black robes and superlative aogai details. She holds aloft a fan illustrated with an image of Mount Fuji, the most honored and profound emblem of Japan. 14K rolled gold cap band, classic "lifebuoy" lever, 14K Dunhill-Namiki heart-vent nib. 105mm. A rare and spectacular instrument.
Provenance: From the Collection of a Gentleman.
-Murakami, Tomihiro. Dunhill-Namiki and Lacquer Pens. [Sakura City: 2000]. See pp. 10-12 for details on several techniques used in making this pen.
-Hutt, Julia & Stephen Overbury. Namiki: The Art of Lacquer Pens. [Toronto: 2000]. See p. 41 for an image of a similar pen on silver rather than gold kinji ground from the Pilot Pen Museum archives.
-Larquemin, Christophe. The Four Seasons of Namiki. [Paris: 2009]. See p. 164 for observations on a similar Geisha pen commissioned by Rudyard Kipling.
-Canton, Jean-François. Namiki: The Poignant Beauty of Fragile Things. [Aurillac: 2013]. See p. 9 for remarks on the cultural and aesthetic significance of the falling cherry blossom motif.