The Namiki Elephant Limited Edition 2022 draws inspiration from the African elephants, the largest land mammals on the planet. The grandeur of the African elephant is depicted on the Emperor vest style pen by the KOKKOKAI Maki-e artisan Mamoru Wakabayashi.
African elephants live extraordinarily long lives, with an average life expectancy of 60 years. As such, they have come to symbolize “survival”, “prosperity” and “life”. Elephants are also symbols of family happiness, as they live in close-knit family groups. They are considered intelligent, wise, patient, and fiercely loyal. When a baby calf is born, the elephants in the same herd recognize the new member and protect both the calf and the mother. They share information such as where to find food and water, how to live on the move, and how to behave in a group of adults, acquiring social skills in the same way as humans do.
The gentle scene of a sunset on the Savannah is depicted on the cap of the fountain pen. An adult elephant and a calf stand against the horizon, and the last rays of setting sun reflected by the raden on a tree. On the front of the barrel, a single elephant is represented using Shishiai Togidashi-Taka Maki-e (Combined Raised and Burnished Maki-e), allowing the elephant’s strength and skin texture to be felt. Two egret birds are also portrayed on the barrel. Egrets have a symbiotic and beautiful relationship with elephants: egrets eat the parasites that live on the elephants’ skin, and elephants reciprocate by protecting the egrets from predators.
This Savannah landscape evoking the dignity, wisdom, and love of elephants is depicted to recreate an entire painting on a single fountain pen. In recent years, elephants on the African Savannah have been threatened with extinction due to poaching and habitat loss. It is heartbreaking that humans have influenced the ecology of elephants in this manner. For the future, it is imperative to think of ways to protect these noble animals and prevent environmental destruction. The artisan hoped to bring awareness and improvement to the situation with this painting.
