Images(9)

Gilded Inkstand

OwnerOwned by Mary Garden (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1874 - 1967)

ManufacturerManufactured by Bloch & Cie (Paris, France)

CollectorCollected by Betty Clunas (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1929 - 2012)

Date1887-1900

Object NameInkstand

Mediumglazed earthenware

ClassificationsCeramics

Dimensions8 × 23 × 15cm

AcquisitionBetty Clunas Gift, 2013.

LocationOn Display - Provost Skene's House

Object numberABDMS082685

Keywords

About MeThis is an inkstand that once belonged to the operatic soprano, Mary Garden. Born in Aberdeen, she enjoyed a lengthy singing career in both France and America in the early 20th century.

The turquoise and gilded inkstand with two covered ink pots has a recessed place for a pen. It is decorated in imitation of 18th-century porcelain. The mark on the base shows two crossed arrows, signifying the Paris manufacturer Bloch & Cie.

Aberdeen born, Betty Clunas (1929-2012) served as the Chair of the Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums. Charles and Betty Clunas purchased their first home at 28 Belgrave Terrace directly from the opera singer Mary Garden (1874-1967) in August 1960. The diva - then in her 80s - seems to have taken something of a shine to the young Betty, pressing on her a sculpted bust of an angel, with the words “Take this my dear, one day it will be very valuable.” The young married couple also purchased several pieces of furniture and this inkstand that Mary Garden had in her flat at that time. The desk and inkstand stayed together when the Clunas' moved to a new house in 1981. This brush with the glamorous world of international opera and Parisian high society of a bygone era, made a deep impression on Betty Clunas.

Exhibitions

Provost Skene's House