Sèvres French Porcelain & Gilt Bronze Inkwell Letter Holder, C. 1880

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Description

An elegant late-19th-century French Sèvres porcelain and gilt-bronze desk inkwell with integrated letter holder, dating to circa 1880.

The porcelain … Read more An elegant late-19th-century French Sèvres porcelain and gilt-bronze desk inkwell with integrated letter holder, dating to circa 1880.

The porcelain body is richly decorated in the Rococo Revival taste with hand-painted floral bouquets, a reclining putto, scrolling gilt ornament, and a delicate gold trellis pattern. The porcelain is set within an elaborate gilt-bronze, or ormolu, mount featuring scrolling foliate corner brackets, cabriole-style feet, and a pierced letter rack with exuberant rocaille decoration.

A central gilt-bronze inkwell rises from the porcelain top beneath a hinged domed cover with engraved foliate decoration and a small finial. Behind it, the ornate upright letter holder creates a sculptural silhouette while retaining the piece’s original function as a refined desk accessory.
The combination of painted porcelain, gilt decoration, figural imagery, and heavily modeled gilt bronze reflects the renewed popularity of 18th-century French Rococo design during the Belle Époque.

The piece is attributed to the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. The porcelain underside is concealed by the original bronze mounting, so the usual factory-marking area is not accessible without dismantling the object. A closely related circa-1880 inkwell and letter holder of nearly identical proportions, construction, and decorative vocabulary has been catalogued in the decorative-arts trade as Sèvres porcelain and attributed to the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. See less