Child and Hunting Dog Porcelain Inkstand

This inkstand, a classic example of Old Paris (Vieux Paris) porcelain, is attributed to the manufacturer and designer Jacob Petit.

Who and Where Was It Made?

• Maker: Attributed to Jacob Petit (or produced within his artistic circle and contemporaries in the Paris porcelain factories). Jacob Petit was renowned during the mid-19th century for his flamboyant, highly imaginative designs, lavish polychrome enamels, and heavy use of raised gilding.
• Where: Paris, France. The piece is a hallmark of the luxury Parisian porcelain industry of the period, which catered to an affluent clientele seeking decorative and functional art objects for private writing desks and salons.

When Was It Made?

• Period: Mid-19th Century, specifically dating from the 1840s to 1850s.
• Style: Rococo Revival / Second Rococo. The design leans heavily into the 18th-century revival movement popular during the reign of Louis-Philippe and the Second French Empire, characterized by asymmetrical scrollwork, C-scrolls, shell motifs, and naturalistic modeling.

Detailed Description & Features

• The Figural Group: The upper tier features a detailed figural sculpture atop a naturalistic, hand-painted brown and green rocky outcrop. It depicts a young child in colorful, period-style Renaissance-inspired attire (complete with ruffled collar and purple breeches) affectionately embracing or leaning over a spotted hunting dog (such as a pointer or setter) wearing a black collar.
• The Base & Pen Tray: The lower inkstand structure is molded with dynamic rococo scrolls and shell-work. At the center sits a recessed pen tray featuring a deep magenta/purple interior accented with gilt floral sprigs (chintz-style or gold stippling). The front face of the tray is decorated with a shaped reserve containing hand-painted polychrome floral bouquets featuring pink roses and blue cornflowers against a crisp white ground.
• Color Palette & Gilding: The body is framed by vibrant turquoise-blue panels embellished with intricate, raised gold scrolling and stippled gilding (gros bleu or turquoise ground with rich parcel-gilding). The entire silhouette is outlined with heavy, sweeping acanthus leaves highlighted in thick gold leaf.
• Inkwells & Lids: Flanking the central pen tray are two lidded ink pots built directly into the scrollwork structure. The set includes its original matching porcelain covers (one styled as an ornate shell-knobbed lid, and the other housing a perforated pounce pot/shaker insert for sprinkling sand to blot ink) along with their interior white porcelain inserts.