Restoration of a late Empire inkwell, rectangular in shape, surmounted by a central dish with a lid pierced with palmettes and handles in the shape of a flowering tuft, held by two winged putti with quivers on their backs and tails in volutes, flanked by two inkwells decorated with trellis patterns and surmounted by a pierced lid with a knob in the shape of an acorn, the body with a niche for an inserted pen, the frieze centered by a mask of Apollo emitting stylized foliate trails, on a molded plinth, on feet and paws.
Simply veneered with a beautiful burl of native ash, the overall composition of this inkwell, with its stylized palmettes, solemn Apollo masks, and winged anthropomorphic putti with volute tails, recalls the designs of Charles Percier and Pierre François Léonard Fontaine, Napoleon's architects and decorators who provided some of the most famous designs of the period. A very similar ebony inkwell, of identical design to this one, was in Napoleon's office and is currently kept at the Château de Reuil-Malmaison (inv. MM40.47.7227).
