Champlevé Writing Set

Description

• Tray & Inkwell (Standish): A shaped, Rococo-revival gilt-bronze (ormolu) tray featuring a wide cast border decorated with scrolling foliate and arabesque enamel work. The center is inset with a rich burl wood veneer panel (likely walnut) fitted with two upright prongs to hold a pen or the letter opener. The integrated, urn-shaped inkwell has a domed hinged lid with a finial is fitted with a clear glass insert.
• Rocker Blotter: A rectangular gilt-metal top plate displaying geometric and foliate enameled borders centered around a matching enameled knop handle, mounted on a curved dark wood rocking base.
• Letter Opener / Page Turner: A shaped, cast-metal letter opener with enameled polychrome patterning matching the foliate and strapwork motifs of the desk set.

Cloisonné vs. Champlevé

• The Difference:
  • In cloisonné, thin, flat metal wires (cloisons) are bent into shapes and soldered onto the surface of a metal object to form cell walls, which are then filled with powdered glass enamel, fired, and polished flat.
  • In champlevé, the hollows or troughs are cast, carved, or etched directly into the thick metal body itself, leaving raised metal ridges that separate the colors. The recessed troughs are filled with enamel, fired, and ground flush with the metal surface.
• Which is involved here: Champlevé. The heavier cast-bronze mounts have cast and engraved recesses filled with opaque and translucent enamels (cobalt blue, turquoise, cream, and red/gold accents).

Origin and Date

• Where it was made: France (predominantly produced by Parisian bronze founders and luxury deskware makers such as F. Barbedienne or contemporary bronziers).
• When it was made: Circa 1870–1890 (Napoleon III through the early French Third Republic era), a period when Moorish, Renaissance, and Rococo-revival champlevé desk accessories paired with exotic woods or onyx were at the height of fashion.