Antigua’s - Belladonna

Antigua’s - Belladonna - Ink drop

Belladonna is the only grey in Antigua’s very well-balanced, twenty-one ink collection. Although the flowers are often various pinks or purples, the name Belladonna is commonly a grey or taupe in paints and textiles. In all cases, they are soft and gentle, and that’s what we find in this ink.

Ink Swatches on Cosmo Air Light and Tomoe River

Antigua’s Belladonna is a muted grey taupe with nice changes in coloration from one end of a stroke to the other. It’s more taupe on some papers, but on others, it very much makes me think of graphite pencil strokes in color. I’d place it between an F pencil and a 2H for overall tonal range.

Good Shading and Definition on Cosmo Air Snow

The chromatography shows a hint of yellow (and good water resistance), and I think this accounts for the subtle tans that are perceptible on some papers. It’s a very pleasant color, and leaning grey, it doesn’t suffer from legibility problems that make some inks impractical for writing.

Antigua’s Belladonna ink writing samples

Both writing experience and performance are very nice. Strokes were clean and sharp on all six papers tested. It’s sharpest on coated papers, as there’s a darkened stroke edging that keeps it crisp, but there was no real spread on uncoated papers, either.

Antigua’s - Belladonna - Swatch Card

Drying was very fast on uncoated papers and average on coated, so there’s no problem there. This is a great professional ink, good for everyday use.

Antigua’s - Belladonna - Comparisons

Antigua’s inks come in the very nice, 50 ml bottles that most people will recognize from Pelikan’s Edelstein series. In terms of ink quality, I’d say they’re very similar to that premium series, too. Antigua’s inks are nice and consistent. At just €11.99 per bottle at Antiguas.es, these inks are a great bargain. If they ship to your country, don’t hesitate to find a favorite or two! (And good news! Starting in January 2024, full international shipping will be available!)

50 ml Bottle - (Image from www.antiguas.es)

Special thanks to Miguel Angel at Antigua’s for gifting me with the inks, and to Maria at www.inksinspiration.com for sending them as a surprise!