Ancient Egypt has been a source of fascination for centuries, with waves of Egyptomania circling the globe at various intervals – usually prompted by some history-making event – and affecting everything in its path. Literature, visual art, and architecture have been influenced over the decades, as has jewelry, furniture, and other objets d’art, including Montblanc’s new High Artistry Egyptomania Limited Edition featured here.

Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 1 Pharaoh

The most recent noteworthy wave of Egyptomania followed the discovery of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 with its incredible jewels, talismanic objects, and breathtaking gold burial mask, giving way to the Egyptian revival of the 1920s. Often considered part of the Art Deco period, the revival’s influence was widespread and included furniture and other household objects (as well as writing instruments) in addition to architecture.

Newspapers and magazines such as Vogue featured Egyptian fashions and interior designs as well as fabrics and embroideries. This was also a fertile time for jewelers, who produced many stunning pieces in the ’20s and ’30s, some of which comprised ancient Egyptian artifacts in their compositions.

Cartier, for example, designed and produced Egyptian-style jewelry beginning around 1910 (probably inspired by the exhibition at the Louvre in 1911). The brooches, earrings, pendants, and more were the result of some serious research on the part of Cartier, who was dedicated to the authenticity of each design.

After 1922, Cartier began to incorporate antiquities into its Egyptian-style pieces, and this second stage of designs continued into the mid-to-late 1920s at the behest of Louis Cartier, who was a collector of Egyptian art. Some Egyptian Revival pieces were produced by Cartier into the 1930s.

Montblanc Egyptian Fountain Pen from the 1920s

Montblanc offered an Egypt-inspired fountain pen in the 1920s. This “Egyptian Fountain Pen” featured an octagonal shape and Egyptian-style engravings. Today the design is being reimagined, proving that the best conceptions never really go out of style, but rather gain new life with a fresh audience.

Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Editions

Montblanc’s High Artistry collections are the perfect opportunity for the company to show off its well-practiced métiers d’art, largely executed by the hands of artisans at the Montblanc writing instrument atelier in Hamburg.

Stone cutting and setting, hand engraving, lacquering, metal sculpting, and more elevate these limited edition pens to a new status while never impinging on their primary purpose: to write well. In my opinion, these pens skate the edge of absolute glamor without ever falling off the cliff into flamboyance and affectation.

There have been several High Artistry collections over the years, each more beautiful than the one before it. The Celebration of the Taj Mahal from 2019 is still fresh in my mind and stands out, I think, as one of the company’s best because of its distinctive and challenging-to-produce shape and tasteful use of a variety of precious stones in varying cuts and colors.

Let’s take a look at a few of the 2020 pens.

The 2020 High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition writing instruments use the treasures and traditions of Egypt as inspiration, and in a new twist each pen is encased in an octagonal “sarcophagus.” A special mechanism is employed to open and close the bejeweled receptacle, which is as functional as it is decorative and most unusual in the world of luxury pens.

Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 1 Treasure

The Limited Edition 1 Treasure is a one-of-a-kind piece inspired by the riches of the sarcophagi of the kings and queens of Egypt. Sapphires, lapis lazuli, and Egyptian turquoise, as well as a blue lotus flower are used to create the gorgeous blue décor. The cap, crowned with a 5.13-carat diamond, and the barrel of the sarcophagus are white gold.

Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 1 Treasure

A detachable scarab – scarabs were popular amulets and impression seals in ancient Egypt – crafted from turquoise and red carnelian serves as the opening mechanism.

Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 1 Treasure

Inside, a Heritage-size fountain pen in solid white gold set with sapphires awaits, its blue-striped pattern recalling Tutankhamun’s death mask. The fountain pen’s 18-karat white gold nib is set with a diamond and features a hand engraving of the mask.

Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 1 Pharaoh

The Limited Edition 1 Pharaoh, also one of a kind, pairs baguette-cut sapphires and hand-engraved hieroglyphics with yellow gold. A detachable scarab once again serves as the opening mechanism for the sarcophagus, and it is fashioned using turquoise, carnelian, and lapis lazuli.

Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 1 Pharaoh

The cap crown is set with an 8.72-carat royal blue Madagascar sapphire. The barrel of the 18-karat gold pen inside is inspired by the headpiece on Tutankhamun’s mask, while the cone of the writing instrument, also in 18-karat yellow gold, is set with turquoise. The 18-karat gold nib features an engraving of the goddess Maat, revered as the personification of truth and justice, and set with a sapphire.

Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 5

The Limited Edition 5 is an homage to the stone setting and gold work observed throughout ancient Egypt. Incidentally, ancient Egyptians associated gold with eternity, which made it a popular ingredient in funerary objects.

Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 5

The cap and barrel of the sarcophagus are yellow gold, and the cap crown is set with a brilliant-cut diamond of about 1.85 carats. The fountain pen inside is 18-karat yellow gold decorated with blue lacquer, and its 18-karat gold nib is engraved with a crook and flail – symbols used in ancient Egypt connoting royalty and fertility – set with a sapphire.

There are other pens in this year’s High Artistry collection, including a ten-piece limited edition in yellow gold and a 72-piece edition in silver and white gold, both of which are uniquely beautiful. A Doué and a Special Edition are available as well.

For more information, please visit www.montblanc.com/en-us/fountain-pens.

Quick Facts Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 1 Treasure
Edition: fountain pen
Nib: 18-karat gold set with a diamond
Cap and barrel: sarcophagus in 18-karat white gold set with sapphires, lapis lazuli, red carnelian, and Egyptian turquoise and crowned with a 5.13-carat diamond; white gold set with sapphires
Limitation: one unique piece
Price: upon request

Quick Facts Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 1 Pharaoh
Edition: fountain pen
Nib: 18-karat gold set with a sapphire
Cap and barrel: Sarcophagus in 18-karat yellow gold set with sapphires, lapis lazuli, turquoise and carnelian and crowned with a an 8.72-carat sapphire; pen is yellow gold with lapis lazuli, turquoise and carnelian.
Limitation: one unique piece
Price: upon request

Quick Facts Montblanc High Artistry Heritage Egyptomania Limited Edition 5
Edition: fountain pen
Nib: 18-karat gold set with a sapphire
Cap and barrel: sarcophagus in 18-karat yellow gold, lapis lazuli, and turquoise inlays and crowned with a 1.85-carat diamond; yellow gold and blue lacquer
Limitation: 5 pieces
Price: $542,500

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