PAB Martora Kolinsky Brushes

PAB – Pennellificio Attilio Bagnoli – is an Italian company which has been bringing brushes to the market since 1908. All kinds of brushes – from interior decorators’ tools to the finest of artists’ brushes.

Write Here is pleased to be able to offer you the latter, in the form of a range of Martora Kolinsky sable art brushes (also known as red sable brushes), which are amongst the best tools a watercolour artist could desire.

The hair is obtained from the tail of the kolinsky (Mustela sibirica), a species of weasel rather than an actual sable, otherwise known as the Siberian Weasel. Many brushes have a mixture of about 60/40% male-to-female hairs, but the brushes we are offering you are made from the male hair only. Kolinsky bristles tend to be pale red in colour with darker tips, and the brushes are formed from the complete tip hair of one animal’s tail – note that this doesn’t harm the animal!
The Siberian Weasel is not an animal that is raised well in captivity, and is generally isolated to the eastern region of Siberia. Due to the difficulty in harvesting the hair, and the fact that other natural and artificial bristles are not comparable in quality, these bristles are rare and expensive.

The expense is worth it, though; the brush can absorb large quantities of water whilst still retaining its exquisitely-fine tip, and the sheer fineness of the hair and its compactness, coupled with the spectacularly good balance of the brush handle, ensures that brush strokes are even and produce a smooth result.