Art Deco Brass Inkwell

This is a single, ornate desk inkwell made from cast brass, featuring a hinged lid and a removable interior liner. The overall shape is circular.

Materials and Construction

• Exterior Casing: Made of cast brass.
• Inkwell Liner: The interior holds a circular removable liner made of white porcelain. This liner fits snugly into the brass body and is designed to contain the ink and protect the metal.
• Lid: A circular hinged lid covers the opening. The hinge is located at the back and allows the lid to lift fully to access the inkwell. A small, decorative flange or protrusion on the front of the lid serves as a lift tab.
• Base: The inkwell has a wide, flat bottom, lying directly on the surface.

Decoration and Style

The inkwell is highly decorative, employing a dense pattern that suggests early Art Deco.

• Shape/Rim: The outer edge is shaped with a repeating pattern of curves and points, giving it a scalloped or petal-like appearance.
• Body Decoration: The entire top surface, outside the lid, is covered in a complex geometric pattern. This repeating motif is deeply cast, giving the metal surface texture and visual depth. The pattern radiates from the central opening towards the scalloped rim.
• Lid Decoration: The hinged lid continues the pattern from the base.
• Aesthetic Impression: The combination of naturalistic flowing lines (the scalloped edge) with rigid, repetitive geometry (the lid, the dense field pattern) points to a transitional aesthetic, moving away from pure Art Nouveau towards the structured forms of early Art Deco.