Product Description
David Oscarson Limited Edition Grey Rosetta Stone Fountain Pen
The Rosetta Stone collection is the twenty-first in the David Oscarson™ series of Limited Edition Writing Instruments. Produced in three primary color variations, each will be limited to production of 77 pieces.
The Rosetta Stone was created in 196 BC as a tribute to Ptolemy V who began to rule Egypt at the age of five and reigned 204 – 181 BC. The stone was erected on March 25th during his ninth year of reign and contained a decree issued by a congress of priests who gathered at Memphis. The inscriptions proclaim Ptolemy V as the divine ruler of Egypt, Ever-Living and Beloved of Ptah, the Egyptian creator-god, maker of all things. In exchange for his divine status, Ptolemy V granted tax exemptions to the priesthood in Memphis whose political support was vital to ruling the kingdom.
The decree was written in three languages: the upper portion in ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs (language of the gods), the middle portion in Demotic script (the language of documents) and the lower portion in ancient Greek (the language of the Greeks as used by the Ptolemaic government). The Greek portion originally written for the Egyptian public to understand would later provide modern-day scholars, chiefly Jean-Francois Champollion in 1822, the key needed to unlock the mysteries of ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic text.
On July 15, 1799, the Rosetta Stone was re-discovered by French soldier Pierre-Francois Bouchard in the city of Rosetta (Modern day Rashid). The Rosetta Stone remained in control of French troops until March of 1801 when British troops took possession and transported it to England where it was presented to King George III. The stone now rests in the British Museum of Art and remains to this day the museum’s single most visited object.
Crafted from .925 Sterling Silver, the Rosetta Stone Collection incorporates multiple levels of diamond-cut Guilloché engraving and a combination of Translucent and Opaque Hard Enamels. Each individual component is Guilloche-engraved and repeatedly kiln-fired and filed by hand, resulting in the beautiful and enduring finish celebrated in each magnificent Collection piece.
The Rosetta Stone Collection is unique as it is the first to incorporate moving parts; each pen barrel is divided into three rotating sections representing the three languages inscribed on the original Rosetta Stone (Hieroglyphic, Demotic and Greek). Each rotating section is then engraved with one of the three significant inscriptions from the original stone in all three languages denoting Ptolemy (at the top end), Ever-Living (in the middle section) and Beloved of Ptah (at the base) as outlined in the original decree. The Greek, as it was for Champollion is the key to aligning all three texts in their correct order as inscribed on the original stone.
Each pen cap features the Winged Disk of Horus, which scholars agree originally crowned the top of the Rosetta stone. The Winged Disk is inlaid with multiple colors of opaque hard enamel and polished to a seamless finish with the precious metal background.
Crowning each pen cap is the face of an original Egyptian coin portraying an image of Ptolemy V during his reign; the reverse of the coin features an eagle and is located at the base of the pen barrel.
Positioned at the base of the clip is the familiar symbol of the Ankh which represents the concept of eternal life; the Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand.