Montegrappa and Zohiko rediscover the prosperity of collaboration between East and West by putting craftsmanship and culture at the center of the stage. Kitcho Noh Masks brings together master craftsmen from two hemispheres to celebrate the celestial beauty of Noh theater – the world’s oldest performing art.

Zohiko, founded in Kyoto in 1661, is one of Japan’s leading exponents of high-quality lacquerwork. Many of its creations are part of the Imperial Court collections. The works created for this collection depict authentic omote (masks) selected by Mr. Tsuyoshi Nishimura, the tenth-generation owner. Under his supervision, each mask is meticulously reproduced in taka-maki-e using the rare gin-age technique. The reproduction of the omote was made with the consent of the original owners of each mask.

The omote (masks) of Noh performers are divine spirits that captivate the imagination with their beauty and mystery. Rarely seen outside of the sacred stages of Japan, each is a symbol of a noble art and the fruit of countless hours – and seven centuries – of craftsmanship.

Rare craftsmanship recreates the atmosphere of Noh. Taka-maki-e combines layers of urushi lacquer with powdered precious metals to bring to life its greatest characters: Demon, Woman, Goddess.

Even the nib decoration is unique to this collection, with each edition recreating a mask depicted on the barrel in vivid two-tone gold: Shishiguchi (demon), Hannya (woman) and Shintai (goddess).

The pens feature a ⌀8 mm 18K gold nib, complemented by an ebonite filler and piston filling system.

Each black lacquered wooden presentation box features a gold plaque, a gold key, a gold binding and a personalized ink bottle, also decorated with the mask reproduced on the corresponding nib.