Louis XV Period Inkstand
An inkstand or writing set comprising a Japanese lacquer tray, supporting two wells, one intended for pounce powder and the other for ink. The ensemble is mounted with a finely chased and gilt-bronze mount. It is further enhanced by a candle holder incorporated into a gilt-bronze foliate scrollwork design, adorned with applied floral decoration in pastiglia.
This type of object is characteristic of the production of eighteenth-century marchands merciers, such as Lazare Duvaux, Dominique Daguerre and the Juilliot family. Working with imported materials and composite elements, notably Japanese lacquer and Saxon porcelain, these merchants commissioned gilt-bronze mounts to adapt such objects to the tastes and fashions of their time.
Louis XV period, France
Width: 28 cm
Height: 20 cm
Depth: 24 cm
