Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 122

Inkstand

ca. 1880 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
Inkstands were an essential and functional part of desk furniture. In the 1880s, typewriters were just coming into use in offices in England, but at home ink and fountain pens remained the most important elements of writing equipment for many years. This inkstand has two ink pots to hold the ink and a tray for pens at the front. The sentimental subject of a figure of cupid presenting a letter and the highly decorative taste of the inkstand may indicate that it was made to appeal to a female consumer.

Time
The inkstand is of highly ornate Rococo form. The Rococo Revival style was very popular throughout the 19th century and by the 1880s it dominated commercial manufacture, especially in silver and gilt metal.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Gilt brass, with brass and glass liners
Brief description
Ormolu, France or England, ca.1880.
Dimensions
  • Height: 23cm
  • Maximum width: 50cm
  • Depth: 31cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 10/06/1999 by LH
Marks and inscriptions
The number '1806' has been scratched on the base of the stand and on the metal ink liners
Gallery label
British Galleries: The curving scrolls and rock and shell forms on this inkstand had been popular motifs of the Rococo Style in France and Britain between 1730 and 1760. When the Victorians revived the style it was sometimes referred to as the Louis XV style, after the French king who was on the throne when it was first fashionable.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Bequeathed by R. E. Jerome
Object history
Jerome Bequest
Summary
Object Type
Inkstands were an essential and functional part of desk furniture. In the 1880s, typewriters were just coming into use in offices in England, but at home ink and fountain pens remained the most important elements of writing equipment for many years. This inkstand has two ink pots to hold the ink and a tray for pens at the front. The sentimental subject of a figure of cupid presenting a letter and the highly decorative taste of the inkstand may indicate that it was made to appeal to a female consumer.

Time
The inkstand is of highly ornate Rococo form. The Rococo Revival style was very popular throughout the 19th century and by the 1880s it dominated commercial manufacture, especially in silver and gilt metal.
Collection
Accession number
M.3-1994

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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