Antique 19th century bronze gilded inkwell with malachite

Pair of gilded bronze candlesticks from the 18th century. Round, stepped base decorated with foliage and stylized shells, the stems are finely chiseled in a rocaille style. Normal we...

A Dutch bronze candlestick from the 1st half of the 17th century. Aged patina Never repaired Height 19 cm

Hammered brass baptismal basin, Southern Germany, almost certainly Nuremberg, dated to the 16th century (circa 1520–1550). The basin is raised from a single sheet of brass, deeply r...

A complete malachite box from around 1930 in a hexagonal shape, with a loose lid This is the kind of malachite what's coming from Congo the box meassures 8.2 x 8.2 cm and has a tota...

Rare and exceptional 19th century Russian gilt bronze and malachite inkwell. Gilt Sphinx with two ink deposits and double sided pen holders.

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...

19th century malachite inkwell. The circular plate for resting a fountain pen houses a crystal inkpot in its center. The plate and the inkpot's stopper are embellished with a gilt bronze cross...

An elegant Empire bronze inkwell with finely cast floral decoration, complemented by gilt handles and feet. It retains all original liners with their fitted lids, a rare and desirabl...