Images(2)

Inkstand

Dateca. 1775

Marked by Wedgwood & Bentley (1768-1780)

OriginEngland, Staffordshire

MediumBlack basalt

DimensionsOH: 3 13/16; OL: 7 3/4"; OW: 5 1/4".

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2024-211,A-D

DescriptionInkstand (A) all of molded black basalt, with removable inkwell (B), pounce pot (C), and lid to wafer compartment (D). Inkstand with central candlestick cup; the cover of the wafer compartment topped by a finial in the form of a recumbent spaniel; the exterior molded with trailing leafy oak branches on a dimpled ground; three short, elongated pads support the base. The underside impressed with “Wedgwood / & Bentley” mark.
Label TextIn 1776 Josiah Wedgwood proclaimed to his business partner William Bentley that their ink pots were “the best in the World, & every Body wishing to have one of them.” Although he mentioned sales were slow overall, American newspapers reported their prevalence and Wedgwood’s patent inkstands are listed in Virginia newspapers throughout the Chesapeake. The phrase “patent inkstands” described Wedgwood’s black basalt ink pots and “Ink-Vessels” (1777 Wedgwood Catalogue) which he improved upon continuously and made in a variety of sizes and forms.
MarkingsThe underside is impressed with “Wedgwood / & Bentley”.
ProvenanceStanley Goldfein (New York, NY); sold July 11, 2024 [Bonhams Skinner, Marlborough, MA]; 2024, purchased by Robert Hunter (Yorktown, VA); September 2024, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)