The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Inkstand

1800s

Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Jaipur

Gold, silver, and enamel
Overall: 8.3 cm (3 1/4 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1916.439
Location: 242B Indian Painting

Did You Know?

The silver core of this inkwell has been covered in gold leaf.

Description

This enamel inkstand takes the fanciful form of a pleasure boat, linking the composing of poetry and the writing of calligraphy to the amusement of the senses. The luxurious materials and elegant form also indicate that scribal activities require a certain level of refinement. Cleverly, the enamelist placed a lotus design on the bottom of the vessel; as a flower that floats on water, the bloom represents both the water imaginatively splashing against the underside of the boat and the actual ink swishing inside the bilge.

This inkstand was purchased by Cleveland Museum of Art founder Jeptha Homer Wade II (1857–1926) and his wife Ellen Garretson Wade (1857–1917) as they made a tour of India on their own pleasure boat, the Wadena.
  • ?–1916
    Mr. Jeptha Homer Wade II [1857–1926] and Mrs. Ellen Garretson Wade [1859–1917], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Nature Supernatural. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 22, 2023-March 3, 2024).
  • {{cite web|title=Inkstand|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.439