The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

A tribute to aesthetic appeal and technical skill

King Nebuchadnezzar II had the gardens constructed some 600 years before our calendar for his wife Amytis. She was to find a part of her green home of Persia amidst the desert-like region of Babylon and ancient writings tell us of an impressive new structure which was created and consisted of stepped terraces where exotic trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs grew. The immense garden itself required a sophisticated system to irrigate them with water from the Euphrates.The Hanging Gardens combined an aesthetic natural beauty and new sophisticated technology making this a true masterpiece. Inspired by this, the Pelikan fountain pen combines the utmost precision in manufacturing with traditional craftsmanship and artistic as well as technical skill. This distinctive writing instrument pays tribute and reflects this architectural wonder by incorporating a representation of the front of two steps of the ancient terraced structure. The backdrop reflected on the pen shows how the terraces were supported by columns and arched vaults. The representation of the stepped garden is once again depicted on the cap of this uniquely crafted fountain pen.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon covered some 120 meters on both sides and the ascending stairway was separated in the form of a stepped slope according to what we learn from the historic accounts of the structure that was destroyed at an early stage. In the fourth century BC, the Babylonian priest Berossos is believed to have first described the gardens, based upon Babylonian documentation. His work has been lost, but chroniclers from the second century BC quoted from it and kept alive the knowledge of the magnificent gardens. This grand form of garden construction art would most likely have given the observer the impression of a hanging park and behind it all was a highly-developed level of technical understanding. It is probable that the walls and columns of the supporting structure were predominantly made of baked bricks and that there were passageways beneath the individual terraces. The substructure of each individual terrace is believed to have been fitted with pipes, natural asphalt, bricks and lead sheeting, so that water could not trickle down. The highest level tier consisted of fertile humus.

About this edition.

Pelikan has set exacting standards for "The Seven Wonders of the World" Edition: superior craftsmanship and the artistic rendering of the Edition's respective subject matter are both prerequisites. "The Hanging Gardens of Babylon" Limited Edition fountain pen thus combines German precision craftsmanship with elements of a long-lost age. Each pen detail has been meticulously designed and crafted with to reflect and pay tribute to this magnificent achievement. The new Hanging Gardens writing instruments are intricate in detail, with a gold plated cap which artistically depicts four stepped terraces. The dark green barrel is refined with lacquer and polished to a high gloss. Edged by gold plated rings, it flows into the superbly crafted front part of the fountain pen. The hand-crafted 18 carat gold nib is decorated with an individually embossed stylized rendering of the terraces. The Hanging Gardens series writing instruments offer a new elegance, uniting functionality, durability and beauty. The new Limited Edition has its own dedicated serial number engraved into the filling handle identifing each fountain pen as a unique masterpiece. Pelikan has crafted just 410 of these precious writing instruments, a number chosen to represent the work of the Babylon priest Berossos from the 4th century BC, the first scribe known to us who has ensured through his writings that this magnificent terraced garden would be remembered and not disappear into oblivion.

The "Hanging Gardens of Babylon" fountain pen has been released in the year 2009 and is limited to 410 pieces.