The Fortuna collection by Italian pen maker Montegrappa sketches in the new Credo series, dedicated to the three Semitic religions: Domes and Our Father to represent Christianity, Shema Yisrael to represent Judaism, and Islam Girih to represent Islam.
These incredibly suggestive pens grown in the three monotheistic faiths are now available from Giardino Italiano’s website.
“Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.“
[Voltaire]
In the sign of Abraham
Semitic religions are the monotheistic faiths of West Asian origin that emphasize and trace their common roots to Abraham.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim a direct lineage to Abraham, the first of the three patriarchs: in the Torah – the Jewish Bible -, the book of Genesis records Abraham as the ancestor of Israelites through his son Isaac. The Christian Bible, whose Old Testament derives from the Torah, leads to a similar ancestry. In the Islamic tradition, instead, Muhammad, as an Arab, descends from Abraham’s son Ishmael.
From this common ground the three biggest religions on hearth have stemmed, reckoning 54% of the world’s population (3.8 billion people).
Fortuna Credo by Montegrappa
Fortuna is one of the big pen families by Italian pen maker Montegrappa. Fortuna, meaning ‘luck’, wants to represent one of the major human virtues. This declines into several pen series that pivot around different embodiments of luck.
The latest series of the Fortuna family is Credo, the Italian word for ‘ism’.
Credo comprehends the three major religious ‘isms’ on earth, celebrating one of the most mysterious and powerful resources of human nature: faith.
Shema Yisrael: a cry for Israel
“Shema Yisrael” are the first two words of a section of the Torah, meaning “Hear, o Israel”. The same two words also make the title of the centerpiece prayer of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. It is traditional for Jews to say the Shema as their last words, and for parents to teach their children to say it before they go to sleep at night.
The pen’s cap bears the Star of David, symbol of Judaism, and the title of the prayer.
The pen’s body is engraved with the text of the prayer and is decorated with a palm tree branch, a classic symbol of peace, and a menorah, the chandelier used at Hanukkah (Festival of Lights). When you uncap the pen you can also see a motive composed by many little interconnected Stars of David, and an inscription with the Hebrew word for ‘peace’, Chai. The nib is also engraved with another Star of David.
Fortuna Credo Shema Yisrael is made of black resin and ruthenium finishings.
Domes and Our Father: landmarks of Christianity
The domain of Christianity is embodied by two pens drawing from the undisputed symbols of Christian faith: the dome and The Lord’s Prayer.
Domes is a pen inspired by the architecture of orthodox churches in the East. The back of the cap and the body of the pen bear an incision drawing the skyline of Eastern Capital cities. These are based on neat geometrical shapes and are topped with crosses, stars and circles as the most common recognized symbols of Christianity.
Our Father is a pen inspired by the Pater Noster (also known as The Lord’s Prayer), one of the key prayers of Christianity. The prayer, starting with “Our father”, is a devoted and respectful call to God father for advice. The body of the pen shows an incision with the text of the prayer in Greek and a branch of olive tree as a symbol of peace.
Domes and Our Father are made of black resin and pink gold.
Girih, the pattern of Islamic art in architecture
Girih, from Persian گره, “knot”, is an Islamic decorative art used in sacred architecture. It consists of geometrical lines that form an interlaced strap work. Girih often includes designs that combine stars and polygons to generate three-dimensional patterns inside domes or squinches. Following this decorative pattern, Fortuna Credo Girih is engraved with an octagonal pattern wrapping the whole body of the pen; a single blue stone is embedded on the cap to make the focal point for the observer and maximize the optical effect of the drawing.
The pen is made of laser-engraved black resin with palladium finishings.
Where you can find Fortuna Credo pens
All the pens of the Fortuna Credo series by Montegrappa are available as fountain pens, rollerball pens and ballpoint pens. You can find these precious symbols of faith at Giardino.it.
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