Rare business card tray, solid bronze around 1900, Jugendstil Art Nouveau France
Located in Wien, AT
Wonderful business card tray, made out of solid bronze, an original of the Jugendstil - Art Nouveau period, made around 1900.
Bronze
$340Sale Price|20% Off
Tiffany Studios bronze patinated pen tray form #1000 Arts and Crafts
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Mobile, AL
The Zodiac pen tray is a fantastic holiday gift for the Cancer or Pisces who loves Tiffany, Arts and Crafts or simply fine living. Designed for pens over a century ago, the function...
Bronze
Tiffany Studios New York Grapevine Bronze Doré and Favrile Slag Glass Pen Tray
By Tiffany Studios
Located in South Bend, IN
A gorgeous antique Arts & Crafts or Art Deco period "Grapevine" pattern gilt bronze and Favrile slag glass pen tray or desk tray By Tiffany Studios (signed to the underside) New Yo...
Bronze
Art Deco Bronze Seal and Ink Tray by Sadoux
Located in New York, NY
A Bronze desk set with "Antico" patina and gold-plated flower decoration from 1925 period: seal, pocket emptier. The signature of "A. Sadoux" appears on the A. Sadoux items. 1925, sc...
Cast Stone
$1,488Sale Price|25% Off
NAPOLEON III Antique 1870 French Desk Tray Set In Gray Marble And Gilt Ormolu
By Napoléon III
Located in Miami, FL
The highly decorative piece has been masterfully carved in gray-green marble and decorated with ormolu fittings made up in gilded bronze. The tray is fitted with two round compartmen...
Marble, Bronze, Gold, Ormolu
$640Sale Price|20% Off
Antique Inkwell, Bald Eagle, Pen Tray, Gilded Bronze, Signed Frecourt, Art Deco
Located in Greven, DE
Antique inkwell made from bronze. Finely chiseled and gilded. Signed "FRECOURT" by the french artist Maurice Frecourt (born 1890, Paris). Very good condition of the bronze and good...
Bronze, Gold
"The Kiss, " Romantic, Rare Bronze Inkwell/Pen Tray with Nudes and Aquatic Motif
By Otto Strandman
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Rare and striking, this large, bronze desk accessory, a combination inkwell and large pen tray, depicts nude male and female figures, shown at the crest of a wave, in the midst of a ...
Bronze
Royal Blue Porcelain and Gilt Bronze Inkwell and Pen Tray in the Louis XVI Taste
Located in London, GB
An Ensemble de Bureau in the Louis XVI Taste Constructed using gilt bronze, and 'Sevres' style porcelain having 'Bleu de Roi' borders, and hand painted with polychrome foliate and...
Ormolu, Bronze
Champlevé Enamel Inkwell on Tray, Napoleon III, 19th Century, France
Located in Lisbon, PT
A 19th century French inkwell in Champlevé enamel and bronze, mounted on an integrated tray with pen holders, in the Napoleon III style.
Bronze
Antique Inkwell, Art Nouveau, Pen Tray, by WMF, circa 1910
Located in Greven, DE
Beautiful inkwell, Art Nouveau, by WMF. Nice authentic condition. .
Bronze
Period French Louis XV Ormolu Mounted Japanese Lacquer Chinoiserie Inkwell Tray
By Vernis Martin
Located in Forney, TX
A scarce nearly 300 year old Louis XV (1715-1774) period French gilt bronze ormolu mounted Japanned encrier (inkwell or inkstand) Paris, France, circa 1750, exceptionally executed i...
Bronze, Ormolu
Antique Art Nouveau Gilt Bronze Ormolu Keys Cards Tray Vide Poche Desk Accessory
Located in Greven, DE
Antique Art Nouveau Gilt Bronze Ormolu Keys Cards Tray Vide Poche Desk Accessory Continental Bronze c. 1900 Dimensions: H x W x D: 3cm x 30.5cm x 21cm Designed and made arou...
Bronze, Ormolu
Tiffany & Co. Antique Art Nouveau Bronze Ashtray or Catchall, 1899
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in South Bend, IN
A gorgeous antique bronze ashtray, desk tray, or catchall inscribed and dated 1899 By Tiffany & Co.
Bronze
Whether you’ve carved out a space for a nifty home office or you prefer the morning commute, why not dress up your desk with antique and vintage desk accessories? To best tiptoe the line between desk efficiency and desk enjoyment, we suggest adding a touch of the past to your modern-day space.
Desks are a funny thing. Their basic premise has remained the same for quite literally centuries: a flat surface, oftentimes a drawer, and potentially a shelf or two. However, the contents that lay upon the desk? Well, the evolution has been drastic to say the least.
Thank the Victorians for the initial popularity of the paperweight. The Industrial Revolution offered the novel concept of leisure-time to Europeans, giving them more time to take part in the then crucial activity of letter writing. Decorative glass paperweight designs were all the rage, and during the mid-19th-century some of the most popular makers included the French companies of Baccarat, St. Louis and Clichy.
As paper was exceedingly expensive in the early to mid-19th-century, every effort was made to utilize a full sheet of it. Paper knives, which gave way to the modern letter opener, were helpful for cutting paper down to an appropriate size.
Books — those bound volumes of paper, you may recall — used to be common occurrences on desks of yore and where there were books there needed to be bookends. As a luxury item, bookend designs have run the gamut from incorporating ultra-luxurious materials (think marble and Murano glass) to being whimsical desk accompaniments (animal figurines were highly popular choices).
Though the inkwell’s extinction was ushered in by the advent of the ballpoint pen (itself quasi-obsolete at this point), there is still significant charm to be had from placing one of these bauble-like objets in a central spot on one’s desk. You may be surprised to discover the mood-boosting powers an antique — and purposefully empty — inkwell can provide.
The clamor for desk clocks arose as the Industrial Revolution transitioned labor from outdoors to indoors, and allowed for the mass-production of clock parts in factories. Naturally, elaborate designs soon followed and clocks could be found made by artisans and luxury houses like Cartier.
Find antique and vintage desk accessories today on 1stDibs.
The French sculptor shaped dense blocks into tactile forms meant to be used and held.
After synthetic dyes changed fashion, home goods and printed matter, it was only a matter of time till glass caught up.
The brilliantly simple design turns a modest bouquet into a major statement.
The Greek tragedian is said to have been handsome in his day.
Even for those who don’t indulge, elegant smoking accessories and audacious art portraying cigar enthusiasts hold a nostalgic allure.
It’s an excellent example of the sought-after ceramics coming out of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province.
Thanks to its new leadership, the Spanish maker of figurines, busts and lighting is on a mission to update the art of porcelain for the 21st century.
The free-form stoneware piece is inspired by the magnolia tree and its associations with home.