Inkstand
Medium
Silver gilt
Dimensions
Overall: 6 × 13 in. (15.2 × 33 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Silver
Culture
Italian, Turin
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Wrightsman Fund, 1997
Accession Number
1997.151.1a, b–.4
Art Historical Context
Step into the opulent world of 18th-century with this exquisite *Inkstand*, crafted around 1753 by Andrea Boucheron and Francesco Ladatte. Hailing from Italy's Piedmont region, this silver gilt masterpiece measures a compact 6 × 13 inches, making it a perfect desk accessory for the elite. As a collaborative effort between skilled silversmiths, it the high craftsmanship of Turin's metalwork tradition under the Savoy court, where luxury objects blended utility with grandeur. Silver gilt—the technique of applying a thin layer of gold over silver—lent this inkstand a radiant, jewel-like sheen, sy...
About the Artist
Andrea Boucheron|Francesco Ladatte ( |Italian) · 1701 |1706 –1761 |1787
ca. 1701?–1761|Italian, Turin 1706–1787 Turin