A REGENCY PATINATED BRONZE, ORMOLU AND BLACK MARBLE INKWELL

This inkwell model was created during the Consulat period, most likely by one of the foremost tastemaker marchands-merciers, such as Lignereux. At the time, the banker Perregaux is known to have had an inkwell in his collection at the hôtel de Guimard: un écritoire en racine d'if à figure de femme à genoux et en bronze tenant deux cornes d'abondance. A virtually identical inkwell was formerly in the collection of Lord Elgin, one of Lignereux’s most notable clients, and sold The Property of the 11th Earl of Elgin and 15th Earl of Kincardine, K.T., Sotheby’s, London, 12 June, 1992, lot 307.