Daguerre

Rectangular white statuary marble inkstand with elaborate gilt bronze mounts applied to the sides backed by red velvet. The surface has three ink containers with ormolu lids and a cut out valley for the pens, resting on ormolu turned bun feet.

The ormolu frieze is considered by Pierre Verlet to have been the property of the marchand-mercier Daguerre who was known to have employed Remond to make them.  Peter Hughes illustrates a work table in the Wallace Collection, No. 218, as an example of the frieze used by Weisweiller. Daguerre also used these mounts on a lacquer secretaire made for the King at Versailles in 1784 and also on a pair of secretaires and commode made for the King of Naples in 1790. The King of Naples then commissioned a lacquer roll top desk using the same mounts in 1792.

There is an identical inkstand, but 1 cm smaller both in width and height, at the J. Paul Getty Museum, illustration 187 in the Summary Catalogue of European Decorative Arts.

Literature

Bremer-Davi, Summary, No. 181, p 109, illustrated.

Another identical inkstand was commissioned by Count Nikolai Sheremetev who built Ostankino, outside Moscow, between 1792-93 enlarged 1796 and 1798. He filled it with both Russian and French decorative pieces.By descent to Count P V Shermetev who gave it as a gift in 1912.

Measurements

DIMENSIONS CM INCHES
Width: 48 19
Depth: 25 10
Height: 8.5 3