PILOT NAMIKI TOGIDASHI MAKIE ZODIAC DRAGON FOUNTAIN PEN Start Price USD 2,078.00 Current Price USD 2,078.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 2,079.00 Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, August 22, 2008 End Time Friday, August 29, 2008 Location Kuala Lumpur See more about 'PILOT NAMIKI TOGIDASHI MAKIE ZODIAC DRAGON FOUNTAIN PEN' Description      SquareTrade © AP6.0                          PILOT TOGIDASHI MAKI-E ZODIAC SERIES DRAGON  FOUNTAIN PEN (2008 NEW DESIGN SERIES) Ryosuke Namiki, the founder of Pilot Corporation, realized the need for improving existing pens used for drawing during his tenure as a professor at the Tokyo Merchant Marine College. After making a prototype fountain pen, he formed a partnership with one of his colleagues, Masao Wada and started manufacturing and selling fountain pens in 1918. Pilot/Namiki is known for its quality maki-e pens and the beautiful works of art are available in both its brand. Be it Pilot or Namiki both uses the finest materials to create a line of writing instruments that look beautiful and perform flawlessly. The Pilot Togidashi Maki-e Zodiac Dragon fountain pen features lively drawings a elegant dragon.   The Chinese Zodiac is a 12 year cycle. Each year of the 12 year cycle is named after one the original 12 animals. Each animal has a different personality and different characteristics. The animal is believed to be the main factor in each person's life that gives them their traits, success, and happiness in their lifetime. Scholars say that the Zodiac was brought from India, Hotan, and Sogdiana from the Buddhist people. They followed the path of the Silk Road. It was brought during the Qin dynasty. The Chinese zodiac refers to a pure calendrical cycle; there are no equivalent constellations like those of the occidental zodiac. In imperial times there were astrologers who watched the sky for heavenly omens that would predict the future of the state, but this was a quite different practice of divination from the popular present-day methods.   The Maki-e lacquering, a centuries-old technique in which multi-layered patterns are drawn on the barrel and cap with urushi - sap from Japanese lacquer.  This lovely fountain pen is hand painted Togidashi Hira Maki-e lacquering techniques. The design is available with a fine, medium or broad 14 karat gold with rhodium accented nib, assuring long lasting, impeccable writing performance. A gift box with bottled ink completes the attractive presentation. Maki-e is Japanese lacquer sprinkled with gold or silver powder as a decoration using a makizutsu or a kebo brush. The technique was developed mainly in the Heian Period (794 -1185) and blossomed in the Edo Period (1603-1868). Maki-e objects were initially designed as household items for court nobles, they soon gained more popularity and were adopted by royal families and military leaders as an indication of power. To create different colors and textures, maki-e artists use a variety of metal powders including gold, silver, copper, brass, lead, aluminum, platinum, pewter, as well as their alloys. Bamboo tubes and soft brushes of various sizes are used for laying powders and drawing fine lines. As it requires highly-skilled craftsmanship to produce a maki-e painting, young artists usually go through many years of training to develop the skills and to ultimately become maki-e masters.   The Togidashi technique, a style where the design is painted in lacquer and gold or silver powder is sprinkled over it; when the lacquer is dry, another coat is applied to the design to fix the powder. Ro-iro-urushi (black lacquer without oil) is then applied over the entire surface, and, after it has dried, it is burnished briefly with charcoal. The final polishing is done with cotton wool soaked with Ki-Urushi (crude Urushi). The Zodiac Maki-e series is a new 2008 design complete with renewed motifs yet maintaining the Zodiac signs according to the tradition. The barrel and cap of the fountain pen is made of brass. The motif has been carefully expressed through delicate work of art by the Maki-e Master.     System: Fountain pen accepts converter or cartridge   Nib type: 18K nib   Length: 13.7cm (cap closed), 16.6cm (cap posted)   Weight: 37.3grm Conditions : New in box with international warranty and original packaging.   PenGallery's Selling Policies Payment Fees Shipping Delivery Refunds & Returns Visa, MasterCard and American Express via our secured online order form. All data is encrypted via SSL secure server with 128 bit encryption before being transmitted. For all international orders, customers are responsible for all tariffs, taxes and duties of the destination countries. For more information, please contact your local customs office. Buyer pays a flat USD15 for worldwide delivery even for combine shipment via FedEx or DHL courier service. Please  note that a higher shipping fee applies to Isreal, please contact us for more details. We only ship to physical address and no. P.O.Box or mailbox addresses. Please visit our STORE POLICIES for more information.  We currently ship to all locations, kindly refer to our STORE POLICIES for more information. Kindly refer to our STORE POLICIES for details about the refunds and returns for the purchases.  At PenGallery, we are always open to question and suggestions. Please feel free to contact at ebay@pengallery.comThank you once again for visiting PenGallery's Listing at Ebay Powered by eBay Turbo Lister The free listing tool. 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