Inkstand or perfume burner

Art Historical Context

This charming bronze inkstand—or possibly perfume burner—stands at 10 inches tall and hails from 19th-century Britain, faithfully reproducing a 15th-century original. Crafted as an electrotype, a innovative Victorian technique that used electroplating to create metal copies of precious artifacts, it allowed museums and collectors to share Renaissance treasures more widely without damaging originals. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts department since its 1873 purchase, it exemplifies the era's passion for historical revival. The object's design l...