Two peonies — one fully open in cream and crimson, one deep pink bud still unfurling above — are rendered with the precision and stillness that define the work of Zuigetsu Ikeda, the early 20th century Japanese botanical master. The artist's seal sits quietly in the lower corner. Part of Slow's Libri Muti (Mute Books) series, this notebook is made entirely by hand in Florence using traditional printing and bookbinding techniques that Founders Roberto di Filitto and Nathalie Schneider have spent years researching and reviving.
The pages open flat and stay there, held by exposed coptic-stitch binding. The edges of the page block are hand-coloured in deep rose pink — a colour drawn from the heart of the painting. Pages are PEFC-certified and acid-free.
Cover: Peonie, Zuigetsu Ikeda — hand-coloured page edges: pink
Bound notebook — canvas cover — 15×21cm — 320 pages
Blank soft white pages, 80 gsm — PEFC certified, acid-free
Exposed spine stitching, lay-flat construction, hand-coloured page edges
'Without words, without writing, and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity' — Hermann Hesse
ABOUT the MAKER
Slow Design Florence
