Inkwell with lid c. 20th century

Curator: Here we have a ceramic inkwell with lid by Hampshire Pottery, dating to around the 20th century. Editor: My immediate thought is verdant stillness, it has the solidity and calm of something rooted to the earth, despite being portable. The monochrome, saturated green definitely emphasizes this. Curator: That’s quite insightful. Green has always been heavily coded – renewal, growth, and even envy, but here it feels grounding. Do you think the specific design serves any particular function, beyond its primary purpose of holding ink? Editor: It strikes me that the drilled holes circling the top seem excessive, which prompts thoughts of process and skill. The potter took extra care, demonstrating control, and it transforms the object beyond the merely utilitarian, moving into decoration. It seems a subtle nod to artistic, labor-intensive handcraft over mechanized uniformity. Curator: Absolutely, the decorative elements point toward status and artistic expression. While the form is fairly simple, even functional, there’s something deeply evocative about the piece, perhaps rooted in the nostalgia associated with inkwells. In a way, this object carries the symbolic weight of intellect and creative expression. The user, through the daily ritual of dipping a pen into ink, taps into the continuity of centuries of thinkers and writers. Editor: That connection you’re making – to tradition – is fascinating. We might consider that it embodies a pre-digital age where knowledge and thoughts were more materially linked to creation. It’s a reminder of slowing down, of physically committing ideas to paper in a deliberate manner. In doing so the form, texture, the object itself, speaks volumes to our history. Curator: Indeed. I think, seeing it here, reminds us that objects—even humble ones—can be so charged with our stories, aspirations, and legacies. Editor: It all goes to show that craft—like a little green ceramic inkwell—offers a profound connection to the labor of creation and to ourselves.