Inkwell - Spelter, Enamel, Glass

A figural camel inkwell in the Egyptian Revival / Orientalist taste, circa 1920s - cast spelter with hand-painted cold enamel in polychrome geometric and naturalistic patterns.

The camel's hump is the hinged lid, opening onto a glass ink reservoir. The form and decoration match Viennese souvenir and desk-accessory production of the 1920s, when Orientalist subjects were popular in Central European decorative arts. No maker's or foundry mark; the attribution to Austria is stylistic only.

Condition: good - the cold enamel shows wear and minor losses from age and use (cold enamel is unfired and wears more easily than fired enamel); the glass liner is present and intact.

Size: 22 x 14.5 x 10 cm. Weight 1,290 g.