Renaissance merchants were expected to write beautifully and keep careful track of their accounts. They were often painted sitting with writing tools such as this finely decorated inkstand. It is fitted with pots to hold ink which was made by boiling oak galls with iron filings and adding gum arabic to bind it.

This inkstand is decorated with geometric repeat designs in the Islamic style. Non-figurative decoration flourished in Muslim countries due to the law against images of people or animals. Islamic decoration was popular in sixteenth-century Venice and it is likely that this inkstand was made for the personal use of a wealthy patron.