Young Turkish Couple Admiring Jewelry

Though unmarked, this inkstand almost certainly is a product of the Conta & Boehme porcelain factory.

The Scene & Clothing: “Turquerie” and Orientalism

The clothing is a classic example of Orientalist style, specifically a 19th-century European interpretation of Ottoman (Turkish) dress, often referred to as Turquerie.

• The Boy: He wears a traditional turban, baggy trousers (salvar), and a waist sash.
• The Girl: She is depicted in a draped robe with a similar turban and a sash.
• The Motif: This “genre scene” depicts a couple admiring a jewelry casket or treasure chest. In the Victorian era, scenes featuring “exotic” Middle Eastern or North African subjects were highly fashionable, symbolizing luxury, romance, and the “mysteries of the East.”

Manufacturer & Origin

• Manufacturer: Conta & Boehme (established in Pössneck, Germany). While often famous for small “fairing” trinket boxes, they specialized in these more elaborate “lift-top” figural inkstands. They often made their inkstand in a variety of sizes. Two versions, one larger, are pictured here.
• Identification: The design—a figural group on a lid that lifts away from a matching base to reveal hidden functional pots—is a signature of their work. On the underside of the lid, you can see the Roman numeral size marks (the smaller the number, the larger the piece).

Functional Components

The two pots inside served specific roles in the age of the dip pen:

1. The Inkwell: The open pot held the liquid ink.
2. The Pounce Pot (Sander): The pot with the perforated “rosette” top held pounce (a fine powder made of crushed cuttlefish bone or resin) or fine sand. This was sprinkled over wet ink to dry it quickly or used to smooth out the surface of rough paper before writing.