{"product_id":"ap-limited-editions-imperial-lacquer-art-fountain-pen-the-royal-bengal-tiger-with-hand-painted-kurkina-box","title":"AP Limited Editions Imperial Lacquer Art Fountain Pen - The Royal Bengal Tiger with Hand-Painted Kurkina Box","description":"\u003cp\u003eAP Limited Editions' The Royal Bengal Tiger is an important early work from the brand's Russian lacquer program, first introduced in 2008 and later named by founders Anuj and Smita Poddar among their personal favorite creations. Produced in an edition of only nine pens, it translates the presence and movement of the Bengal tiger into the painstaking visual language of Russian miniature lacquer painting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAn Early AP Russian Lacquer Landmark\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Royal Bengal Tiger occupies a notable place in AP Limited Editions history because it appeared during the formative period in which the brand was establishing its identity around miniature art, unusual cultural subjects, and exceptionally small production runs. Contemporary AP material shows the model as a 2008 launch, while later interviews singled it out as one of the creations that best represented the brand's artistic development.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe composition centers on the tiger moving through dense tropical vegetation. The animal is not treated as an isolated emblem. Its face, stripes, fur, and expression are integrated into a larger environment of leaves, blossoms, orchids, and layered foliage. That surrounding detail is essential to the effect: the tiger appears to emerge from the habitat rather than simply sit on top of the lacquer surface.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eThe Story Behind the Artwork\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Royal Bengal tiger has long carried associations of power, sovereignty, vigilance, and the natural grandeur of the Indian subcontinent. In this composition, those ideas are expressed through movement rather than heraldry. The tiger is shown within its environment, surrounded by vegetation that both conceals and frames it. The scene rewards close viewing because the eye moves between the animal's facial detail and the smaller botanical elements around it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRussian lacquer miniature painting is particularly suited to that visual density. AP has described its Russian lacquer works as requiring extraordinary patience, with artists working at miniature scale and under magnification to maintain line and color on curved surfaces. The result here feels closer to a narrative panel painting than to conventional pen decoration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Matching Hand-Painted Kurkina Presentation Box\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis example is materially more significant than the pen alone because it is accompanied by a large matching wooden presentation box hand-painted by Kurkina. The box depicts another Bengal tiger surrounded by elaborate foliage and orchids, extending the subject beyond the writing instrument into a second substantial work of lacquer art.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor a collector, the box changes the nature of the set. Instead of functioning merely as packaging, it becomes part of the artistic presentation and provides a much larger surface on which the same visual language can unfold. Complete AP lacquer sets with artist-painted presentation pieces are especially compelling because they preserve the original relationship between object, artwork, and display.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eEdition of Nine\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe pen was produced in an edition of only nine examples worldwide. At that scale, each surviving complete set represents a meaningful portion of total production. The combination of early AP provenance, a recognizable animal subject, Russian miniature painting, and the matching Kurkina-painted box makes this an unusually strong collector presentation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWriting Configuration\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eExtra Fine, Fine, Medium, and Broad nibs are available for installation at the time of order. The physical pen body is shared across these nib choices, allowing the collector to select the preferred writing point while preserving the same unique lacquer artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eTechnical Specifications\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBrand:\u003c\/strong\u003e AP Limited Editions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eModel:\u003c\/strong\u003e The Royal Bengal Tiger\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIntroduced:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2008\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEdition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Limited to 9 pens worldwide\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDecoration:\u003c\/strong\u003e Russian miniature lacquer painting\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePresentation:\u003c\/strong\u003e Matching wooden box hand-painted by Kurkina\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAvailable Nib Sizes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"AP Limited Editions","offers":[{"title":"Extra Fine","offer_id":54639637037331,"sku":"AP-071-EF","price":18000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine","offer_id":54639637070099,"sku":"AP-071-F","price":18000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Medium","offer_id":54639637102867,"sku":"AP-071-M","price":18000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Broad","offer_id":54639637135635,"sku":"AP-071-B","price":18000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2083\/6627\/files\/AP-Limited-Editions-Imperial-Lacquer-Art-Fountain-Pen-The-Royal-Bengal-Tiger-with-Hand-Painted-Kurkina-Box-uncapped-leaning.jpg?v=1788544745","url":"https:\/\/www.truphaeinc.com\/products\/ap-limited-editions-imperial-lacquer-art-fountain-pen-the-royal-bengal-tiger-with-hand-painted-kurkina-box","provider":"Truphae","version":"1.0","type":"link"}