Phoenix Lacquer Art Russian Empire Nikolas and Alexandra Fountain pen

The Phoenix Lacquer Art Russian Empire series honours the great Emporors of Russia. In 1613, 16 year old boyar, Michail Romanov was chosen among other Russian noblemen to become the first Romanov emperor after a period of policital instability. During the reign of the Romanovs the Russian Empire would become a formidable global power of ashtonising wealth.

This set of 2 fountain pens is dedicated to the last Emperor and his spous Nikolas II Alexandrovich Romanov and Alexandra Feodorovna. Nikolas II was the last Emperor of All Russia, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his forced abdication on 15 March 1917. During his reign the Russian Empire fell from one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse. He was reviled by Soviet historians as a weak and incompetent leader whose decisions led to military defeats and the deaths of millions of his subjects. Nicholas signed the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907, which was designed to counter Germany's attempts to gain influence in the Middle East; it ended the Great Game of confrontation between Russia and the British Empire. He supported Serbia and approved the mobilization of the Russian Army on 30 July 1914. In response, Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August 1914 and its ally France on 3 August 1914, starting the Great War, later known as the First World War. The aristocracy was alarmed at the powerful influence of the despised peasant priest Grigori Rasputin over the czar. The severe military losses led to a collapse of morale at the front and at home, leading to the fall of the House of Romanov in the February Revolution of 1917. Nicholas abdicated on behalf of himself and his son. With his family, he was imprisoned by the Bolsheviks at that time, exiled to Siberia, and executed the following year in July 1918.

On the cap a (self)portrait of the artist can be found. While on the barrel a masterpiece from the artist is beautifully painted by the artists of Phoenix.

The bodies of the Phoenix Lacquer Art pens are made from resin by Visconti in Florence. After that the clean black bodies are sent to Russia where the artists of Phoenix Lacquer Art have the complete freedom to decorate it with (egg)tempera, gold leaf and lacquer. The fountain pens also use the Power Filler mechanism which is an invention of Dante del Vechhio, former CEO and founder of Visconti. The fountain pens have a 18kt gold duotone Medium nib with ebonite feed. The nibs are made by Peter Bock in Heidelberg, Germany.  If you are not into writing with a fountain pen, a spare rollerball forepart can be purchased as an extra option.

Phoenix makes beautiful art works on writing instruments in the style of the Russian lacquer and miniature art, which is a tradition that dates back for centuries. The striking images that are created by the artisans are done because of their passion for this art style. There is something miraculous about the birth of a precious object of art. It all starts with a thought, an idea and the artist gives the most perfect expression to this inspiration.

All the art works on the Phoenix pens are handmade, crafted with expert skill in limited editions of sometimes only one, by only the greatest Russian artists. It takes over six to eight weeks to paint a single pen and is very insensitive for the artist. A Phoenix writing instrument is more than just a writing instrument, it is a piece of art, a lifetime gift, delivering exceptional writing pleasure.