Placed on four feet decorated with a cartouche and acanthus leaves, this inkwell certainly has a baroque taste. Each foot is decorated with a sea monster reminiscent of 17th century dolphins. In the center, the sonot glass powder compact and inkwell hidden in urns. The fretel of each lid is in the shape of a butterfly and, between the two urns, a draped figure of a woman stands among reeds. She is walking on rocks around which the waves of a stream flow. The latter flows into the lower part of the inkwell, forming an expanse of water, a fountain, which acts as a feather rest.
The two butterflies allow us to identify the central character who is none other than Psyche. A very specific episode of his adventures is represented here. While the young woman has just betrayed the trust of Eros, encouraged by the malevolence of her jealous sisters, her lover has fled, furious at having been betrayed by the one he loves and Psyche, in despair, chooses to die by throwing himself into a river. However, no river in Greek mythology is devoid of spirit and the one that Psyche chooses to end her life is moved by the young woman. Rather than swallowing it up in its waves, it rests on the bank, where Dionysus awaits it. The latter advises Psyche to do everything to recover Eros. After Persephone and Hera refuse to help her, Aphrodite accepts Psyche’s request on the condition that she submits to all kinds of tests. One of them requires Psyche to bring to the goddess of wool some sheep with golden fleeces, which graze in a meadow located on the other side of a very dangerous river. Psyche sets off but once faced with the raging river, she is very confused and cannot find a way to cross. A reed, moved by Psyche’s distress, then shows her the way to cross the river to safety.
It is this episode that our inkwell materializes. Psyche is crossing the river, lifting her drape and holding on to the reed which was willing to help her. In front of her, the waves of the river flow vigorously and form several waves on the edge of the pen holder
This is a choice that could not be more judicious on the part of the goldsmith and which betrays a fine knowledge of the figure of Psyche and what she still represents in the cultivated European society of the 19th century. Because for Greek philosophers and for psychoanalysis after them, in the 20th century, the young heroine embodies the soul that animates humans. It is she who inspires the writer and the poet. Its place is therefore ideal on a desk. The Minerva hallmarks are visible on the base and the moving parts. Applied to silver objects since 1838, they guarantee the quality (the quantity of pure metal) in the alloy. Our inkwell bears first grade hallmarks certifying that the object is made of 95% pure silver.
Marielle Brie de Lagerac
Art historian for the art market and cultural media.
Author of the blog Objets d’Art et d’Histoire
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