ANGLAIS : 19TH-CENTURY MEMENTO MORI SKELETON INKWELL

Memento mori inkwell in solid bronze depicting a seated skeleton, late 19th century.
The figure, modeled with striking realism, adopts an unusual posture: seated cross-legged, arms folded against the ribcage, as if in silent meditation between the world of the living and that of the dead. The skull, articulated by an old hinge, lifts to reveal a small hand-blown glass liner, still present in its housing, which once served as the ink reservoir.

The surface displays a deep and even patina, formed over time through handling and exposure — a patina impossible to replicate, bearing witness to the object’s authenticity. The casting, dense and slightly irregular, reveals the artisanal craftsmanship characteristic of late 19th-century production, when each piece was cast by hand.

Macabre desk objects of this period, direct heirs to the memento mori tradition, were intended to remind both the man of letters and the artist of the fragility of life and the vanity of human ambitions. This inkwell, with its blend of gravity and irony, belongs to that cabinet of curiosities aesthetic that swept through Victorian Europe.

The ensemble is in fine, honest condition, with its mechanism fully functional, its original hinge intact, and its rare internal glass liner preserved — an essential detail missing from most known examples.

By its nature and symbolism, this object fully belongs to the tradition of the cabinet of curiosities.

PERIOD : 19th century 
DIMENSIONS : 13 cm × 9 cm
SIZE : 5.1" × 3.5"