John Round & Son Ltd. Sheffield Silver Mounted Horse Hoof Inkwell, circa 1905

English Officers Equestrian silver plate, enamel and hoof inkwell, an exquisite example with a portrait of the beloved horse, expertly mounted, possibly b...

1900s English crystal and silver plated Sheffield inkwell on handled tray. The tray measurement is: Depth: 10 inches. Height: 2.75 inches. Width: 14 inches. The measurement below...

These interesting inkwells were crafted in Britain between the Victorian period and early to mid-20th century. The works have been created from horse hooves, applied with sterling silver mounts. Each hoof has been set onto a silver horseshoe and features a silver top and lid. Two of the tops have been engraved to imitate real horse hair, while the third is more simple, with banded ornament. All three have been given covers, two of which feature commemorative inscriptions. One lid states, ‘The Grey/1907-1917’ — presumably the name of the favourite racehorse, whose hoof this is — and another reads, ‘Mavourneen/ Died June 29th / Aged 53’. ‘Mavourneen’ is an Irish Gaelic word meaning ‘my beloved’. The dedicatee’s age of 53 implies that they were a human, perhaps a jokey, or racehorse owner. The lids open up onto a silver-lined interior, intended to be used for storing ink as part of a desk arrangement. The inkwells are stamped, on their underside, with silver hallmarks and maker’s marks, ‘J.T.’ and ‘C & CS’. This set of three horse hoof inkwells...

A rare Victorian silver plated novelty inkwell fashioned in the form of a barrel on stand, in turn standing on a brick paving; beautiful detail such as...

A lovely antique English silverplate lyre shaped letter holder by Thomas Bradbury of Sheffield, dated 1872. Hallmarks on base. This beautiful letter rack has a Neoclassical design wi...

Antique mounted horse hoof made into an inkwell with a pen holder from a horseshoe; these were popular in the 19th century to transform hooves into inkwells as a simple way to rememb...