Maki-e "Karajishi" (Chinese Lion)

Maki-e Karajishi (Chinese Lion)

Product description

Karajishi (Chinese Lion)

Tigers used to be regarded as the king of beasts in ancient China, but when the rumors about lions were passed on to Chinese people through the Silk Road, lions took the place of tigers. 

Lions were also valued as the symbol of kingship – not only in China but also in Egypt and India where lion statues were placed in the palaces of their dynasties to represent the king’s power and to protect him.

Karajishi is an imaginary lion introduced from the Tang Dynasty (7^th to 10^th century) to Japan. 

In both the East and West, a lion has been considered to be a precious luck-bringing animal that averts evil, beckons happiness and promotes joy. 

The two lions and colored balls depicted on the fountain pen are believed to realize your dreams and bring joy and fortune to you.

Maki-e is a traditional Japanese technique to create ornamental lacquer ware, and this technique was used to illustrate the Karajishi.

In Maki-e, designs are drawn with lacquer using a special brush. 

Then gold foil, gold and silver powder are sprinkled or stuck onto the design. 

This careful and time-consuming process is repeated many times in order to give depth to the designs.

In 1929, Pelikan registered the patent for the piston mechanism, a new fountain pen filling system. 

This technique, refined and updated, is still used today. 

The Pelikan fountain pen “Karajishi” is a masterpiece with a finely-chased 18 carat gold nib accentuated with a rhodium décor. 

The Pelikan logo on the crown, limited edition number and artist’s signature are drawn in by hand with the Maki-e technique.

With the honed experience of decades and excellent craftsmanship, the impressive fountain pen model Souveraen 1000 is produced in Germany and then decorated in Japan, thus creating a perfectly crafted product that is more than the sum of each part... a little bit of magic has slipped into it...

The fountain pens are encased together as a set in a traditional Japanese gift box which is made of Paulownia wood.

The “Karajishi”, released in the year 2007, is available in a limited edition of only 88 pieces worldwide.

Facts and figures

Model	Size/Length in cm	Weight in g
Maki-e "Karajishi"	17,2	34,1

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