In the early Eighteenth Century, especially by 1720, desk and writing-related
items were among the most fashionable of luxury goods since they could display
the status and learning of the owners. Even though a gentleman might employ
secretaries to do his writing for him, it was essential that his own tools for
writing were both elegant and efficient.
Large inkstands such as the
one pictured above allowed for all the requisite writing equipment to be contained
together. The semi-circular trough at the front of this French example dating
to 1720 was designed to hold quill pens, while the three compartments at the
back held (from left to right) ink in a glass pot, a sponge (for wiping the end
of the pen free of unsightly blobs which would have spoiled the writing) and a
pot for “pounce,” a powdered sandarac which was sprinkled over the writing to
prevent runs. It is veneered in boulle marquetry of tortoiseshell and brass, with
sumptuous figural brass mounts, and may well have matched the writing table for
which it was first made.
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