Serpentine Desk Accessories

Art Deco inkwell with original inkwell glass vienna around 1920s. Original inkwell glass. Polished and stove enamelled.  

Carefully carved from a cypress tree burl, this late 19th-century burlwood vessel is known as a brush pot, a container traditionally used to hold select calligraphy brushes in a scho...

Large Zitan Huanghuali hardwood brush pot bitong, Qing Dynasty, 18th century, China Measures: Height 12 diameter 12.75 in.

A Baccarat crystal inkwell with decorated bronze. Circa 19th century, France. The interior is two inches deep and the opening is one inch wide.

Crafted of brilliant doré bronze and fine brocatelle marble, this wonderful Napoleon III-period inkwell is as functional as it is beautiful. In a style reminiscent of Louis XV Rococo...

19th century French Crystal and Bronze Mounumental Inkwell. Signed. Escalier de Cristal Paris.

This is a superb decorative antique Italian Grand Tour marble Pietra Dura mounted desk paperweight, circa 1880 in date. This splendid rectangular paperweight is exquisitely inlai...

Beautiful and authentically preserved stamp for sealing wax.

This rare desk set was designed and produced in Germany, during the 1940's. It consists on a knives holder, with three knives, a letter holder, an ashtra...

A beautifully crafted polished bronze elephant inkwell that vividly captures the late 19th-century fascination with the exotic. Reflecting the Orienta...

This is a superb decorative antique Italian Grand Tour marble Pietra Dura mounted desk paperweight, circa 1880 in date. This splendid rectangular paperweight is exquisitely inlaid with a sumptuous arrangement of semi-precious stones including malachite, agate, onyx and amethyst. It is beautifully inlaid on a slate base. Not only is this desk paperweight very functional, but it is also an exquisite mineralogical wonder that can be admired by all discerning collectors. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation, Dimensions in cm: Height 2 x Width 17 x Depth 10 Dimensions in inches: Height 1 inch x width 7 inches x depth 4 inches. Pietra dura is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished coloured stones to create images. It is considered a decorative art. Pietre dure is an Italian plural meaning "hard rocks" or hardstones; the singular pietra dura is also encountered in Italian. In Italian, but not in English, the term embraces all gem engraving and hardstone carving, which is the artistic carving of three-dimensional objects in semi-precious stone, normally from a single piece, for example in Chinese jade. The traditional convention in English has been to use the singular pietra dura just to denote multi-colored inlay work. However, in recent years there has been a trend to use pietre dure as a term for the same thing, but not for all of the techniques it covers, in Italian. But the title of a 2008 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe used the full Italian sense of the term, probably because they thought that it had greater brand recognition. The material on the website speaks of objects such as a vase in lapis lazuli as being examples of "hardstone carving (pietre dure)" The Victoria & Albert Museum in London uses both versions on its website, but uses pietra dura. "A method of inlaying coloured marbles or semi-precious stones into a stone base, often in geometric or flower patterns...." Giovanni Montelatici...

A very elegant desk set in art deco probably from 1930s or earlier. The desk set is made of patinated brass and consists of two parts. An ink stand with pen stand and a rocker blotter...