Visconti Arte Mudejar

[pilotheinrich]

Presenting the Visconti Arte Mudejar

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/heinrich773/MudejarPlant.jpg

 

I wasn't sure I wanted this pen. It doesn't seem to get much notice compared to its flashier cousin, the Romanica. Indeed, I have a Visconti Romanica and the Arte Mudejar seemed too similar in its celebration of architectural style, albeit with a different technique. Why have both? Well, Bryant had the Mudejar on closeout, but not with a stub nib (which I've converted to almost exclusively). I took a chance anyway and got it with a broad nib.

 

I ordered it, and it arrived the NEXT DAY. Bryant must have some magic with the USPS to get packages to Chicago so fast.

 

This is the kind of pen you have to see in person, and I knew I had made the right choice once I saw it.

 

Design

Visconti touts this pen as part of its Art series and the Mudejar recalls the confluence of Moorish, Christian, and Jewish art from the 11^th to the 15^th centuries, centered in Aragon. Visconti sees this pen as a tribute to that art and an inspiration for our own troubled times to perhaps find some common ground.

 

The other unique part of this pen is the execution of the design in scrimshaw. This technique involves finely cutting a pattern, then filling it with pigment, and then polishing it all in place. So carefully designed is this pen that you will notice a balance of more heavily engraved sections that appear richer and darker interspersed with very finely engraved sections that appear lighter.

 

To show how fine the scrimshaw effect is, I took some macro photographs so you can see the color and etching close up:

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/heinrich773/MudejarCloseBarrel.jpg

 

 

It's amazing how clean the detail is at such a small scale. To give you a better idea of the scale, here's the cap:

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/heinrich773/MudejarCloseCap.jpg

 

The clip uses the spring-loaded Visconti bridge. The lettering in the name will help you judge the scale.

 

In addition to the scrimshaw, the ivory-colored resin body of the pen has subtle striations of light and dark. This is very hard to photograph, but quite visible and pleasing to the eye. I overexposed the picture below to try to show this. You can see it in the bottom portion of the cap, but, as I said, it looks much better to the naked eye.

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/heinrich773/MudejarStriations.jpg

 

 

Nib Performance

The Arte Mudejar came with Visconti's new Palladium "DreamTouch" nib. And is it ever a dream. I thought stubs were smooth, but this broad nib is the smoothest and wettest writer I've ever had. It's like skating on air. The flow is consistent and generous, so much so that I go through three times as much ink with this pen. Given how luscious and wet this pen is, having a Visconti Traveling Ink Pot is almost a necessity.

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/heinrich773/nib.jpg

 

 

Filling

Visconti equips the Mudejar with its double-reservoir power filler. This is my favorite filling system as it holds a huge amount of ink, keeps most of it in reserve so you don't run out, and can suck the ink back in the reserve when you travel. The Mudejar is my fourth Visconti Power Filler and I must have lucked out on this one because it operates noticeably smoother than the Romanica or Wall Street LE I have.

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/heinrich773/MudejarFull.jpg

 

Clip Color

Speaking of the Romanica, yes it's the same form factor, material, and base color as the Arte Mudejar. But the different finishes make them very different pens, so I don't mind having both. The Mudejar is not as heavy as the Romanica and can be used posted.

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/heinrich773/Romanica.jpg

 

 

What I do increasingly mind is the gold color of the clip, as seen in the family photo above. I recently had the Romanica refitted with a rose-gold palladium stub and it nearly transformed the pen. But then there's that damned gold clip on both the Romanica and Arte Mudejar. It just looks wrong and out of place. I'd prefer a white or ivory clip, or even a clip in metal tone that matches the finish. Visconti spends so much time and love on the finish, and the standard clip mars the final coherence of the design. I know they used a brass clip on the Homo Sapiens, so I hope they start paying more attention to this in future limited editions.

 

Suggested Ink

The clip color is really my only beef with the Arte Mudejar. I compensate for the clip by using J. Herbin Terre de Feu ink, which is almost the same color as the scrimshaw art.

 

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/heinrich773/mudjar.jpg

 

The Arte Mudejar had no reviews on this site, and I am posting this review to give this wonderful pen some recognition. It has already gone the way of the Visconti museum, but there are still some to be had, and at very good prices.

[Twoodi]

Fantastic photos and equally fantastic review - thank-you very much for sharing such a beauty

[WendyNC]

It really is a lovely pen. Thanks so much for the excellent photographs.

[georges zaslavsky]

This pen is pretty in terms of aesthetics :clap1: But in terms of nib the palladium nibs I testwrote on the homosapiens were not up to my too demanding expectations, you probably had much better luck than I had.

[wykpenguin]

How did they do the engraving? Machine, laser, hand?

[breaker]

very nice review and excellent pics

[Ghost Plane]

I've got one with the 18k stub and it's juicy and lovely to write with, too.

 

I'd change that clip if I could. What possessed them to put gold on this pen.... :bonk:

[shrinknib]

lovely review.

looks a nice pen but I have two Romanicas and didn't necessarily think I'd like this as much.

 

I agree with the clip- I am sick of the design, they could come up with a new design every now and then.

Also some people are unhappy with stability of the clip and say it moves around a bit.

 

you could probably get the nib stubbed and that would be nice.

[nicholasyeo]

Wow! Gorgeous pen! I just love those intricate patterns, though I would not

use such a precious pen in my daily writings.

[mathguy]

Just saw this review and agree 100%. The fine nib writes well (I'd normally never buy one, but this was a gift from my wife), better than any other fine nib I've used. The one criticism I would add to the review is the tendency for the bottom of the barrel to stain easily if you're not using Visconti's travling ink pot. Otherwise, it's a stellar pen.

[alvarez57]

http://www.buscounviaje.com/public_html/fotos/teruel-espana-464/arte-mudejar-en-teruel-412-550.jpg Arte mudéjar in Teruel, Spain.

 

Very nice review, gorgeous pen. I agree with the clip, Silver or rhodium would have been nicer.

[pilotheinrich]

Thanks for that image, Alvarez57. It's breath taking and makes me appreciate the design on the pen even more. If only we still did architecture like that.

 

Mathguy: I use J. Herbin ink (on GP's recommendation) in this pen and haven't had any problem with staining.

Edited November 5, 2010 by pilotheinrich

[alvarez57]

PilotH. :

 

Knowing how is mudejar art having seen it so much in Spain, I couldn't help posting a picture that reminded me so much of your pen's art. What is nice about the pen is how they have caught the color of the brick seen particularly in this style. Even better how they did NOT overdo the pen's art.

 

Here seen with Gothic elements. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Art_mudejar_saragosse.jpg

Edited November 6, 2010 by alvarez57

[pilotheinrich]

Ah, another stunning picture. The green and blue diamond shapes remind me of the green and blue enamel trim on the Romanica. And like you, I'm glad Visconti used the subtle scrimshaw technique instead of going for some overwrought color monstrosity.