A look at the design, market and legacy of Victorian pottery

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Majolica Desk Stands

Desk stands are something of an anachronism today. They certainly look nice, but since the days of ink wells is long in the past, they really don't serve much function. In addition they are rather rare among majolica manufacturers. There are a few truly outstanding examples from the English potteries as well as some rather less elaborate ones among Continental majolica manufacturers.

George Jones desk stand

George Jones desk stand with the wells revealed

Brown-Westhead Moore desk stand

Minton majolica dog desk stand

George Jones desk stand, also made as a jewelry box

Minton monkey and pineapple desk stand


Minton majolica mussel coral ink stand

Minton lemon desk stand also made as a preserves server

Original production drawing from the Minton Archives of the lemon inkstand

Unattributed elephant desk stand

Wedgwood majolica Egyptian desk stand

The majolica desk stands most commonly found today are simple ink wells most often disguised as an apple or a pear on a plate. These are sometimes sold with the fruit missing.
Many of these are of continental origin though from the examples I've seen I suspect that they were made in Great Britain as well.

Registered English eagle majolica desk stand, Rd 319416

Unattributed ink stand with the well hidden by the removable apple

Identical to the stand above but with a removable pear

Most desk stands of Continental origin are made in France though some were made in other countries as well. These pieces have very limited appeal to most collectors irregardless of their size and complexity and consequently sell inexpensively.

Cats riding penny-farthings desk stand


Choisy-le-Roi frog and bird desk stand
Choisy-le-Roi desk stand with removable swan cover

Choisy-le-Roi baroque desk stand

Thomas Sergent desk stand

Mullen & Leendertz majolica ink stand


Crocodile riding a bicycle desk stand

No comments:

Post a Comment