Inkstand with Apollo and the Muses

This pottery inkstand is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s (NYC) collection of European decorative art and dates to 1584.

This extravagant desk set celebrates the art of poetry while providing a writer with storage for the tools of his craft. The exterior decorations evoke ancient Roman art and honor the divine sources of creativity. Gods and muses perch beside famous poets atop an elaborate confection of drawers and removable containers, including inkwells and a sand-shaker (for drying fresh text). Inside, the compartments are decorated with images denoting their contents, such as scissors and quills.

This majolica inkstand was made in the workshop of the Patanazzi family (Italian, active ca. 1580 – 1620). It is signed, dated and inscribed. On the book held by an unbearded figure: Urbini Patanazia fecit anno 1584 (Patanazzi made this in Urbino in the year 1584). Inscribed on the back on a cartouche: MAI / ORA / MERE/ NTI (To one who deserves greater things).