Ormolu and marble inkstand by Barbedienne

This beautiful inkstand is formed from ormolu (gilt bronze) and lustrous red griotte marble. Set on a shaped rectangular ormolu base—the curved sides of which feature embossed palmettes and other flowing foliate motifs—the inkstand is defined by an unusual sculpted figurative element to the centre. This figure, after Caffieri’s famous sculpture ‘The River’, is finely cast and finished and is flanked by two ormolu inkwells, all three of which are set above the griotte marble slab that rests atop the ormolu base. This piece of griotte marble features a long rectangular recessed pen holder to the front.

The inkstand is signed ‘F. Barbedienne, Fondeur Paris’, while the sculptural group of the river god is signed ‘Caffieri’.