Inktpot van inktstel 1725 - 1750

Curator: Here we have a piece titled "Inktpot van inktstel", a Baroque inkwell dating back to between 1725 and 1750, crafted from metal, probably by Jurriaan van Kalker. Editor: It looks like a very elegant, silvery, sort of stunted wedding cake. If wedding cakes held ink, that is. Solid and… reflective. It feels heavier than it probably is. Curator: Yes, metalwork often projects permanence. The Baroque style favored grandeur, and even in a functional object like an inkwell, there's an echo of that. It speaks of an age that valued meticulous craftsmanship. The repetitive horizontal banding reminds me of layers, of strata… perhaps hinting at the accumulated knowledge and artistry it supported? Editor: Layers are interesting… like sediment in a mind too, gathering into an impression. What I also notice are those three almost cartoonish little mouth-like openings punctuating the dome up top… Are they ventilation? Are they just cute? Do you think our master scribe back then found inspiration there? Curator: Almost certainly ventilation! Baroque ornamentation served a purpose as much as a design flourish. But the question remains, how do the shapes, in series of three, impact us subconsciously? Three can symbolize completion, but it also reflects religious, magical, and superstitious patterns common at that time. Perhaps their placement offered the writer confidence, a tiny blessing for success in correspondence or composition? Editor: A little silent promise that you wouldn't blot the page, maybe! I suppose writing itself held some aura back then. No computers… imagine setting pen to parchment, or whatever the paper equivalent was back then. High stakes! It adds to the romance this little inkwell kindles for me. Curator: Exactly. Each carefully chosen object became an extension of one’s personal authority and social standing. Ink, especially, facilitated power. These visual associations persist whether we’re consciously aware of them or not. It's something this inkwell embodies with a tangible presence. Editor: Yes… even in this streamlined, silvery shape, I feel like I could summon the weight of history and old magic just by holding it. Okay, not really, but I like to think that I could! Curator: Its simple elegance quietly reflects broader currents of history. Editor: Leaving us all inked in history somehow, just like it was planned all along!