{"id":1748,"title":"The Braschi Inkstand","medium":"Silver, silver gilt, lapis lazuli, and rosso antico marble","classification":"Metalwork","dimension":"28 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 14 3/4 in. (72.39 x 52.07 x 37.47 cm)","object_name":"Inkstand","continent":"Europe","country":"Italy","nationality":"Italian","dated":"1792","room":"G322","list":"decorative-arts-highlights, Euro-highlights-pre-1800","role":"Silversmith","signed":"Signed, inscription on silver-gilt base of the horse tamer at right: Vincenzo Coaci fecit /  Romae anno 1792;\r\nInscribed in drawer: Vincenzo Coaci Argentiere","text":"This ingeniously complex inkstand may have been presented to Pope Pius VI (Giovanni Angelo Braschi, reign 1775–1799) to commemorate completion, in 1786, of the Quirinal Monument in Rome, just across from the pope’s summer palace. As seen in the inkstand, the monument incorporates an Egyptian obelisk, which was unearthed about a mile away, and two ancient Roman sculptures of horse tamers. The horse tamers on the inkstand swing out with the press of a lever, revealing an inkwell and sander (a shaker for sprinkling fine sand or powdered talc over wet ink to speed its drying). The sphinxes’ headdresses conceal candleholders, and the center drawer contains an assortment of illusionistic engravings, including Coaci’s trade card. The two doves can be made to kiss by means of a lever located under the fountain.","creditline":"Gift of funds from The Morse Foundation","accession_number":"69.80.1a, b","artist":"Silversmith: Vincenzo Coaci","life_date":"Italian (Rome), 1756–1794","department":"European Art","rights_type":"Public Domain","image_width":5862,"image_height":5334,"recent":0,"see_also":["8484"],"sort_number":"69    80    1a    b","image":"valid","public_access":1,"curator_approved":0,"highlights":0,"Cache_Location":"001000\\700\\40\\1748","Primary_RenditionNumber":"mia_5005067_001.jpg","Rights_Image_Display":"Full","list:decorative-arts-highlights":true,"list:euro-highlights-pre-1800":true,"related:audio-stops":[{"title":"Vincenzo Coaci, Inkstand and case","_id":"1748","objectId":"1748","link":"http://audio-tours.s3.amazonaws.com/p715.mp3","number":"715","type":"audio"}],"related:artstories":[{"title":"Coaci Inkstand","_id":"1748","objectId":"1748","description":"<p>You wouldn’t use this inkstand to write your grocery list. At more than two feet tall, made of silver, red marble, and lapis lazuli—a semi-precious blue stone—it’s one of the most imaginative examples of Italian decorative arts from the 1700s. Silversmith Vincenzo Coaci designed it in 1792 to commemorate a monument made several years earlier, when Pope Pius XV had a recently discovered ancient obelisk moved to the Quirinal Piazza, next to his summer residence. There, it was surrounded by two huge horsemen that had stood in that spot since their creation around 400. Topped with a cross, this rearrangement of ancient artifacts from the pagan past was an expression of papal power and a triumph of engineering.  </p>","link":"http://artstories.artsmia.org/#/o/1748","type":"artstory"}],"mtime":"2026-03-13T09:00:09.514Z"}