Glass Inkwell with Portuguese Silver Repoussé Lid

This glass inkwell features a beautifully crafted sterling silver hinged lid.

The Glass Body: The inkwell’s body is made of clear, heavy glass. The bottom of the inkwell features an appealing pressed glass pattern. This design, often referred to as a “waffle” or “diamond cut” pattern, consists of raised, intersecting lines that create a grid of diamond-shaped facets across the entire base.

The Silver Lid: The star of the piece is the circular, hinged lid, which is decorated with intricate repoussé work. Repoussé is a metalworking technique where a design is hammered or pushed from the reverse side to create a raised, three-dimensional pattern on the front.

• The Flower: The lily’s petals are long and graceful, and the way they are detailed with chasing (fine lines engraved on the front to add detail) gives them a lifelike quality. The lily is a common motif in both Art Nouveau and Victorian design, symbolizing purity, beauty, and renewal.
• The Hallmark: The silver fitting bears the Portuguese “boar” mark. This hallmark, used on silver pieces in Portugal from 1886 to 1938, guarantees that the item is sterling silver with a fineness of .833 (83.3% silver). This mark, accompanied by another mark indicating the city of assay (the city of Porto), confirms the piece’s origin and places its creation in that specific time period.