Is it a wolf? A lion? A demon? A tiger? Nobody online seems to be able to agree, so I'm sticking with a wolf, which is how this stunningly evil, surprisingly heavy, turn of the century, iron inkwell is tagged at a local antique mall. This would look quite nice sitting here on Mr. Karswell's desk... buuuut is it affordable? Not even close, though that didn't stop me for photographing it from all angles, including a few pix of it opened at the hinged jawline so you not only get a better look at those ferocious choppers, but also the glass ink bottle hidden inside of its beastly throat. Dates vary as well, I've seen the 1890s and early 1910's thrown around on various listings, --clearly this bad boy is as full of murky mystery as it was bottomless black ink...
It's a good boy!
ReplyDeleteI'd guess lioness. I love the jaw mechanism and the hidden ink well. Like you, I'd love to have it on my desk but cost aside, that's a good amount of room to take up.
This is a thing of beauty. I love how well rendered all of it is, from the chompers down to the fur. It's excellent. I can see why it might have a high price!
BTW, the teeth have a crazy amount of detail, I'm not an expert on animal (of that type) teeth but there's obviously different (and probably correct) teeth type. That's really great work.
A quick BING search turned up several varieties of this inkwell, the style must have been very popular over a century ago. I guess it was popular among those living in colonies of Great Britian, since it represents the British Lion so well.
ReplyDeleteI can see why it would fetch a pretty penny nowadays, quality workmanship is rarely sold for a low price, unless the seller doesn't know what they have.
Some kind of beast! It's funny that I was gonna say that I lean toward lion because of that mane. Wolves have somewhat hairier neck areas too, sure, but this looks to me like long flowing lion locks. I was going to say that the mane mitigates my feeling that the face is too pointy to be a lion, otherwise. But then Barnes thinks it's a girl lion, and those don't usually have a mane at all but definitely have a lion face. So there you have it. Everybody sees it a different way, even in this microcosm. Maybe that's the best thing about it. That it represents a savage intersection, the middle ground of all beasts.
ReplyDeleteAnd also holds ink, of course. Or maybe one of those wet sponges you can use to lick your stamps and envelopes? That would be a lot funnier.
Pretty sure it's a lion.
ReplyDeleteLooks nothing like a lion to me, as depicted old time style or what / whenever so I guess the mystery remains...
ReplyDelete