Namiki Emperor Size Limited Edition Zao Wou Ki Fountain Pen

(ONLY 50 PIECES WERE MADE) castle98 castle98 castle98 castle98 castle98 castle98 castle98 castle98 castle98 castle98   When Namiki asked Zao Wou-Ki, one of the greatest artists of our time to decorate a pen, the latter was both amused by the idea to exercise his talent on an unusual support and attracted by this new expression which gave him the opportunity to take part in the creation of a beautiful object.Born in Beijing , Zao Wou-Ki studied painting at the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Hangzhou before coming to Paris in 1948. His work is the symbol of the fusion of culture and artistic expressions between France and China .The painter who has always had close ties with writers and poets (A.Malraux, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Claude Roy, Yves Bonnefoy and of course Henri Michaux who dedicated his "Jeux d'encre"... to him), has been especially inspired by this writing instrument, a reservoir of ink and thought that the English have poetically called "Fountain pen", and that the Japanese when they discovered it, have called the "Brush of 10,000 years".To decorate it, he has drawn from the sources of calligraphy, interpreting in his own style the ideograms finely engraved four thousand years ago on the Chinese bronzes. The great artists who master the art of lacquer have faithfully copied them out and drawn in free hand in gold characters on a background of black natural lacquer this modern version of the ancestral writing on each of the 50 numbered copies published by Namiki and which bear the name of "Zao Wou-Ki".     1921    Zao Wou-Ki was born in Beijing on February 13th in an aristocratic family. At 14, he attends the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Hangzhou, regarded as the best in China . In 1947, he exhibits his work in Shanghai . 1948    He settles in Paris where he meets Henri Michaux, Pierre Loeb. He makes friends with the composer Edgar Varese, travels a lot in Europe and in the United States . 1962 He makes 10 lithographs to illustrate "The Temptation of the West" by Andre Malraux, the Minister of Culture who intercedes in his favour in order that he gets the French citizenship.1972 He goes back to China after 24 years of absence.   1993    He is made Commander of the Legion of Honour by the president of the French Republic . Exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris and at the National Library of Paris as well as in Japan (1976). Many exhibitions in New York during the 80's. Retrospective at the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon (1992). Retrospective at the Cultural Centre of Contemporary Art of Mexico (1994). He is awarded the "Premium Imperiale Award of Painting" in 1994. The Emperor of Japan hands him over this honour in Tokyo . Retrospective at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan and at the Museum of Art of Hong Kong (1996). Retrospective in Shanghai , Beijing , Canton (1998-1999). Retrospective at the IVAM in Valencia , Spain (2001). Total length (cap closed) :  174 mm (6.9")Total length with cap posted behind the barrel : 213 mm (8.4")Barrel diameter:  16.5 mm (0.6")