Following the recent news of the upcoming Statue of Zeus, Iguana Sell, a purveyor of luxury goods out of Spain, gave us a preview of an upcoming Maki-e limited edition fountain pen today in a post on The Fountain Pen Network.  The new model has been named Spring & Autumn.  This appears to be an ambitious Maki-e release, encompassing both traditional Maki-e and Raden techniques in a veritable patchwork of thematic motifs.  The pen’s finish is designed to symbolize both of its namesake seasons.  The imagery includes cherry blossoms and maple leaves, both symbolic of their respective seasons in Japanese culture.  Gold leaf is employed to create three traditional Japanese designs on the cap.  These include flowing water in green, a hemp leaf in brown, and a golden stripe.  There is an area of blue abalone shell on the barrel of the pen, creating a Raden effect.  An additional area of stripes in violet depict eternal love.  Yet another area in silver is done in the Harikiri technique.  Several different Maki-e techniques exists and Harikiri entails generously sprinkling gold powder over a design and then carefully removing it with a needle in selected areas so that the original design shows through the gold dust.  When taken as a whole, these different panels come together to give the front of the pen, where the clip resides, an Autumn motif whereas the opposite side depicts a Spring design.

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