Antique French Art Deco Fan-Motif InkwellGeometric Silver-Tone Metal — France, circa 1930

DETAILS:
Size: approximately 23 × 10 cm (9.1 × 3.9 in)
Material: silver-toned metal
Style/Period: French Art Deco, circa 1930
Shipping: professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide
Condition: good; visible patina and surface wear consistent with age, as photographed; hinge functions correctly
Returns: accepted within 30 days

The Art Deco desk set brought the era's signature motif — the sunburst fan — into the writer's daily tools with genuine architectural intent. Where the nineteenth century had dressed its inkwells in acanthus and scrollwork, the Deco designers of the 1920s and 1930s reached instead for the stepped fan, the ziggurat, the radiating line: forms borrowed from cinema façades and skyscraper crowns, scaled down to sit at the corner of a desk. An inkwell in this style was as much a statement about the era as it was a functional object.

This inkwell is French, circa 1930, cast in a silver-toned metal with a boldly geometric fan-form base. The body radiates outward from a central hinged lid in a symmetrical arrangement of stepped, splayed panels — each panel bordered with a raised egg-and-dart style edge and finished at the tips with small stepped feet, the silhouette reading unmistakably as a sunburst fan seen from above. At the centre, the lid lifts on a hinge to reveal the ink chamber, its surface bearing a cast reference number in the recess — the manufacturer's mould mark rather than a maker's signature, but evidence of a piece produced from a considered and numbered design. Between the radiating panels, the metal is pierced in small floral and foliate cutouts, a lighter decorative touch against the otherwise hard geometry of the fan. Note how the piece is built almost entirely without a flat resting surface — every element steps or radiates, the sculptural confidence of a designer unwilling to let any part of the object sit passively.

The metal carries an honest silver-toned patina with visible age and surface wear, as photographed; the hinge functions and the piece sits securely despite its unconventional footprint. It sits well on a desk or a library table, a small piece of the Art Deco moment made functional.

It arrives professionally packed and fully insured. Maison Jaspers pays US tariffs and import duties. For other destinations, local import taxes and duties may apply and are payable by the recipient. Returns are accepted within 30 days.

Condition

Read our condition standard. Please ask if you need additional photographs or measurements.

A decorative style is not a guarantee of a particular maker or date. See the individual listing for the stated attribution and period.

Worldwide delivery is included in the price. Every piece is individually packed, tracked and fully insured. No shipping charge is added at checkout. If your destination is not listed, please contact us before ordering.

European Union: no customs and no import charges. Delivery usually takes 2–5 working days after dispatch.

United States: Maison Jaspers pays the tariffs and import duties for you.

United Kingdom: UK import VAT is payable on delivery (5% for antiques over 100 years old, otherwise 20%).

Other destinations: local import taxes may apply and are payable by the recipient. Contact us before ordering if you would like guidance.

Dispatch timing is shown above.

Delivery information

Notify us within 30 days of delivery if you wish to return a piece. No reason is required. Returns are free within the Netherlands and Belgium; from elsewhere you pay return shipping for a change-of-mind return.

Return instructions and your consumer rights