Ink well 18th-19th century

Curator: This gem resides at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Dating back to the 18th or 19th century, it's simply known as an 'Ink Well,' a utilitarian object rendered surprisingly beautiful in cobalt blue glass. Editor: It gives me such a feeling of somber elegance, something akin to holding a piece of the night sky in your hand. Curator: Absolutely. Thinking about how something like this was produced by glassblowers of that time is striking, really, as is thinking about its use. Each writer dipping a quill for every mark…that glass itself has absorbed who knows how many thoughts, stories, and proclamations, quite literally. It really transcends the status of merely a thing. Editor: You're right; to think of it materially, from the labor poured into mixing and heating the glass, to the shaping and annealing – these glassmakers were highly skilled. Consider the economy around pigment production that creates this very specific blue – there is also metal hardware capping the opening on the side. Who commissioned it? Where did its materials originate? It brings up so many social questions about artistic production in a pre-industrial setting, doesn’t it? Curator: Exactly! Plus, there's a geometric precision in the design—that slightly angled, almost coffin-like top section, is really what transforms the mundane into the fascinating. Its shape also influences how light will pour across it. Like water through a flume. Editor: And in that way the glass, while visually striking, still humbly facilitates labor by providing an essential service for a specific writing process and culture. In that sense, its purpose echoes through to the writers whose ink it held and their contributions to intellectual life. It served something bigger, culturally. Curator: Right, a silent vessel and a testament to creation of all sorts. Makes you wonder who filled it last. Editor: Indeed, it speaks of artistry, utility and ultimately reveals the cultural infrastructure surrounding literacy of that time. A small object loaded with such potential depth and breadth, you know?