The combination of historicising styles found on this inkwell is characteristic of nineteenth-century fashions. The curving form of the piece, and the slightly asymmetrical appearance of the (blank) shields on the front and back of the stand, recall the so-called rococo style of ornament associated with the French court which was particularly fashionable across Europe from the late 1720s to the 1750s-1760s. Other aspects of the ornament on the stand are slightly earlier. The standing, winged cherubs on the sides and the arrangement of the curved 'c' scrolls and foliage around them, which is not markedly asymmetrical, recall designs from the period 1670-1700. In fact, the inkwell bears the marks for the year 1848 and was made by an established London firm of silversmiths, C. T. & G. Fox, much of whose work emulated historical forms of various types. The company sold many of their goods through the firm of Lambert & Rawlings (later Lambert & Co.) in Coventry Street, Leicester Square, a shop located close to John Jones' residence in Piccadilly. Jones, a collector who was particularly interested in eighteenth-century French furniture and porcelain, probably purchased this piece in part because of its French feel.