ANTIQUE SILVER INKSTANDS
Antique Silver inkstands Description:
A desk accessory to hold writing implements including pens, quills, ink, sealing wax, taperstick, snuffer, and pounce.
Antique Silver inkstands History:
There are very few examples from before 1700, and these early examples were often called a standish. Inkstands were made throughout the Georgian, Victorian, and 20th Century periods, and are still being made today.
Antique Silver inkstands Design:
Their basic design centered on a place to hold pens or quills, and a container for ink. More complex designs included boxes or draws for sealing wax, containers for pounce (used for drying ink - see pounce pots), taper-stick holders with a dunce-cap snuffer, and sometimes a bell for summoning a servant for posting. Other styles had pierced gallery edges, whilst the larger Treasury inkstands were dual-sided, with two pen-wells, for the large partners desks. Many had more than one ink-well for different ink colours.
Antique Silver inkstands Collectors Note:
It is very important to check that all removable parts are hallmarked. This includes the ink-well lids and rings, bells, boxes and drawers, tapersticks, snuffers, and of course the main body. All marks should be clear. Check to make sure that any glass ink-wells are original and have not been damaged. If there is a pierced gallery look closely at the piercing to make sure that there is nothing missing. Check for repairs to legs and look for thin spots where monograms or crests have been removed.