There is writing. And then there is calligraphy. Calligraphy is to writing what marquetry is to carpentry. It is the act of applying a second level to the communication which writing accomplishes, for – regardless of form or font – a word on the page or manuscript has a specific meaning. Calligraphy enhances the actual letters which form a word by adding a visual element that both complements and reinforces the message. When written calligraphically, letters and words transcend their basic forms and become precious items.
To couple together the spiritual and visual elements of Arabic calligraphy, and to translate them into a pen design, Montegrappa turned to the Lebanese artist and designer, Katya Assouad Traboulsi. Her creativity marries the calligraphy and the Arabesque pattern, which are intricately bound together by history and culture.
Based in Dubai, Traboulsi was born in 1960. Since 1986, her work has been exhibited in Paris, Washington, Mexico City, New York, London, Kuwait, Algiers, Beirut, Dubai and other capitals. Traboulsi’s art has entered many private collections all over the world. She has also also published two books, Of Others (2011) and Generation War’ (2013).
Traboulsi’s design for the Montegrappa Calligraphy pen features an elegant arabesque medallion in silver as a cap top and an exquisite interplay of enamel arabesque patterns in mother-of-pearl white, red and green. The pen barrel is characterised by its Arabic calligraphy phrase, virtuously embossed on a silver background. The phrase literally reads: “the pen transports culture”, and the symbolism of this phrase is that the pen has been the instrument of transmitting knowledge and culture through time and across generations.
Available as a fountain pen only, but with a wide range of nibs including oblique and stub versions preferred by calligraphers, the Montegrappa Calligraphy writing instrument is made of bamboo black celluloid with sterling silver trim. The fountain pen is fitted with an 18K gold nib enhanced with a bicolour arabesque motif. Delivered in a hand-made wooden case devised to protect the pen, it also houses a hardback version of the special book, “Arabic Calligraphy: Worlds Made Precious”.
The Montegrappa Calligraphy pen is a limited edition comprising 328 pieces, this number representing the first and oldest discovered document written in a dialect of Arabic and dated 328 CE.
Italy's first pen manufacturer, Montegrappa, began manufacturing pens in 1912 in its factory in Bassano del Grappa - a picturesque town along the Brenta River, which flows through Alpine foothills in northeastern Italy. Utilizing natural celluloid and precious metals, Montegrappa combines traditional methods such as die-casting with more recent innovations as low-relief engraving to form their precious art objects. Whether they use colors reminiscent of the master painters or ornamentation suggestive of Baroque palaces, the Italian heritage and romance is infused into each product.
