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Lot 1134

DUNHILL-NAMIKI: Forest Pagoda Maki-e & Raden Fountain Pen, c.1930s

16 June 2015, 10:00 PDT
San Francisco

US$10,000 - US$15,000

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DUNHILL-NAMIKI: Forest Pagoda Maki-e & Raden Fountain Pen, c.1930s

Flat-top lever-filler maki-e pen, gold-plated cap ring, ball-ended clip, Namiki "lifebuoy" lever, 18K gold Dunhill-Namiki heart-vent nib. 127mm. Not signed. The barrel depicts a towering pagoda in a forest dell; the cap depicts flowering plants. Both are rendered in skillful Takamaki-e in red, orange, silver and golden hues, and the effect is one of tranquility. The contrast between the glossy black urushi, the golden cap ring and clip, and the vivid autumnal colors gives this pen wonderful charm and appeal.

In Namiki: The Poignant Beauty of Fragile Things, Jean-François Canton interprets the recurrent pagoda motif as "...the pillar that unites heaven and earth, the religious pivot around which the lives of humans unfold. Here we have a... haven where visitors can draw strength, reconnect with the universe and regain serenity." In a sense, then, the pen becomes a sort of portable pagoda, a hand-held source of tranquility and contemplation, and thus a restorative against the unrestful hand-held devices of our latter day.

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