19th Century, Inkwell

19th century

Inkwell

Red marble and gilded bronze, 14 x 37 x 23 cm

An elegant desk inkwell made in France during the 19th century, a typical expression of Napoleon III’s taste for ceremonial tableware. The base, with its contoured and curvilinear profile, consists of a slab of red marble veined with gray and white, framed by a band of gilded bronze finely chased with stylized leaf and flower motifs, which runs along the entire front perimeter. The marble top, in addition to enhancing the piece’s aesthetic appeal, served as a surface for writing accessories such as letter openers, seals, or small everyday objects.

At the center of the composition are two matching gilded bronze inkwells, with turned bodies featuring vertical fluting, resting on volute-shaped feet. The lids, richly decorated with acanthus leaf motifs arranged in a radial pattern, are topped by elegant handles shaped like pinecones or pomegranates—a recurring ornamental detail in 19th-century French goldsmithing. These lids, whether hinged or simply resting on top, served the practical purpose of protecting the ink from evaporation and dust, while also creating a striking visual effect when the object was displayed on a desk.

The double basin likely allowed for the use of different colors of ink—such as black and red—or ink and water for dilution. Overall, the piece attests to the skill of French bronze casters in combining functionality with decorative splendor—a style typical of works intended for the bourgeois and aristocratic circles of the time.