This paper offers an exploration and interpretation of Robert M. Pirsig’s key term ‘Quality’; the notion of a pre-intellectual moment that he suggests exists between the thing in itself and rationalisation. I have followed two traces of ‘Quality’ in search of a Pirsigian aesthetic. Firstly, a metaphysical trace, which investigates the pre-intellectual moment in relation to the writings of Plato, Schopenhauer, Schelling, Heidegger and Derrida. Secondly, I have pursued a mystical trace, which attempts to get back behind Maya (the illusion of reality) to the universal poetic energy or ‘Quality’ by dissolving the eight veils that obscure the work of art. Finally, I have put forward a concept of the Fake as a guard against the complete rejection of rationality that leads only to ignorance and credulousness. I suggest that through the Fake, it is possible to acknowledge rationally that which is beyond our rational capability.