Russian Silvered Bronze Bear Inkwell, Russia, 1870

Wonderfully charming and boasting a high level of detail, this bronze walrus also serves as an inkwell. The incredible artistry of Viennese bronze work i...

Young bear bronze figure. Probably paperweight or car mascot - hood ornament. Very nice details. Very good foundry quality, with original brown patina.

Malachite is one of Russia’s most prestigious stones, and its use in the creation of this rare and opulent inkwell indicates commission and ownership by an individual of considerable status. Wonderful doré bronze accents are the perfect complement to the vivid green stone. Two dipping wells and pen tray make this inkwell as functional as it is beautiful, circa 1890. Dimensions: 18 1/4” wide x 11” deep x 5 1/2” high. The 19th century proved to be the golden age of Russian malachite. The stone became a sign of prestige and a token of wealth so much so that Russian papers of the time wrote: “To afford having a big piece wrought in malachite is synonymous to owning diamonds.” Due to malachite's relatively close proximity, Russian tsars could easily obtain the malachite they needed to decorate their lavish palaces, such as the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, paneling walls and commissioning beautiful inlaid works of art. Year after year the Russian (Romanov) treasury paid increasingly unreasonable prices to hoard the best malachite, much of which went into Romanov palaces and extravagant objects d’art. The Hermitage Museum possesses a collection of over 200 examples of this “palatial” malachite...

A bronze sculpture of a hand with an open palm. Resting on the palm is a bronze object that resembles a traditional spinning top. The hand appears to be life-sized (Small Children s...