Four Young Girls in Profile

Overview

• Artistic Period & Style: Art Nouveau / early 20th-century Jugendstil, circa 1895–1915.
• Central Motif: A bas-relief vignette depicting four young girls in overlapping profile and three-quarter view. They wear traditional European regional dress (Dutch or Breton-style folk bonnets/caps and folded shoulder shawls) with hands quietly clasped in front of them—a popular turn-of-the-century genre motif symbolizing piety, sisterhood, or school attendance.
• Form & Mechanism: A double standish design featuring a long, grooved front pen trough, stylized foliate scrollwork along the frieze and lids, and two inkwells. The flat lids pivot open on drop-pin swivel posts fitted with rotation stops.

Maker & Pattern Number (“4823”)

The raised four-digit mark 4823 inside a cast cartouche on the underside is a foundry pattern/catalog mold number.

• While unbranded numeric marks generally signify foundry identification rather than an artist signature, the clean casting, integrated pivot assembly, and fitted glass liners reflect quality commercial foundry craftsmanship.

Composition & Materials

• Metal: Cast brass
• Inserts: Includes its original pair of clear glass inserts.