Americana & Folk Art
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Peggy McClard Antiques Americana & Folk Art |
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It is extremely rare to find a complete 18th century desk set such as
this. The 9 ˝” long tray has its original William & Mary ball feet (the
tray measures 9 ˝” long x 5” deep x 1 5/8” tall). On the tray (each on
their appointed raised ring) sits the original pouncer (which held the
powder to sprinkle over your writing to dry the ink), the original ink
well with the original glass insert complete with broken pontil, and a
sander which held course sand in which you wiped the ink off of your
quill pen. Each piece fits as it should on its appointed spot and it is
really exciting to lift them off (the ink well is the only piece that
screws in place) and see how the patina under the components is so much
lighter where air has not had so much of a chance to oxidize the metal.
The top of the ink well is a bit difficult to screw into place, but it
can be removed and replaced easily….you just need to work a bit to get
the screw threads lined up. The hand-blown glass insert has a lovely
wavy edge and, as I said before, a lovely broken pontil. Check all the
photos carefully….the patina is a gorgeous dark grey and everything is
in place and as it should be. Touchmarks on bottom of tray are 1) Shield
with “ID”; 2) a shield with a crouching winged figure; 3) a shield with
a standing lion; and 4) a shield with heart with a scalloped edge and
something I can’t make out above it. Above this straight line of marks
is a crowned X. From a long-time private Dutch collection. Rotterdam,
The Netherlands. Circa 1760. There is a similar example in
Cotterell's Old Pewter: Its Makers & Marks at page 112, dated
1744 but with no marks. (#4711) $1250 |
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Look at how the patina changes around the area where the individual pieces sit on the tray. You can only get that kind of oxidation by age. |
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Touchmarks run in two lines on the bottom of the tray. Highlighted by the arrows. |
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Send mail to
peggy@peggymcclard.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2010 Peggy McClard Antiques
