A majolica inkwell and candle holder shaped like a small boat with a highly contoured profile; it features a raised prow ending in a large scroll and a base adorned with sweeping “rocaille” scrolls. The body—internally divided into longitudinal compartments for writing implements—includes two circular receptacles: one positioned towards the prow and the other beside a winged “putto” (cherub) seated at the stern. The “putto” is modeled in the round and leans against a shield painted with a small landscape scene. The entire surface is decorated in blue monochrome against a pale blue ground—reflecting the style of Savona majolica—with landscapes, floral motifs, scrolls, and ornaments distributed freely across the complex sculptural form. Its imaginative shape and exuberant decoration exemplify the historicist taste of the Cantagalli manufactory, which was particularly inclined to reinterpret motifs from the great Italian ceramic tradition.

Florence;  late 19th century.