Charming Lady’s Antique French Silver Ink Well By Arnet~Sold~

An absolutely Charming Ink Well in Antique French Gilt Silver by François Auguste ARNET.

We fell head over heels for this little beauty!
The daintiness and beautiful work is breathtaking.
It consists of a two handled little baluster shaped urn, decorated with a ‘Raie de Coeur’ or ‘spokes of heart’ motif on the pedestal and the upper part, which receives the Ink.
It rests on a trilobed stand that sits on three little feet represented by flower buds.
The gallery surrounding the stand is sheer beauty…It is decorated with a cordiform (or heart shaped) motif, so delicately carved it looks like lace!
The upper part of the gallery shows a heart of spokes motif.

This lovely piece was done by François Auguste ARNET who was a jeweler, which helps us understand the fineness of the work..
The whole piece is in solid silver with an 18 carat gold wash which remains exceptional.
A little anecdote: when we cleaned this little beauty, it still had remnants of Violet ink in the inkwell!

The Hallmark is the Minerva Hallmark for 1st title silver (950/1000). 1838 -1919 – Paris

The Makers Mark is that of François Auguste ARNET
It shows two A’s separated by a helmet topped by a viscount’s crown.
ARNET registered his mark on June 2nd 1846 in Paris.

H: 3.93"W: 4.72 / L4.92"D: 2.55"Reference number: CC-182