Enamel On Brass Pounce Pot

A pounce pot is a container for pounce, perforated at the top so that it could be used to sprinkle the powder on to parchment or on to newly written pages. Pounce pots were usually small turned or rounded pots shaped somewhat like salt cellars but with a concave, or saucer-shaped, top or lid. Variant forms that came into fashion, particularly in the eighteenth century, included small square-shaped boxes. They were commonly made of wood, brass, pewter, silver, bone, ivory, or other materials, including in later times porcelain and glass. An inkstand, or ‘standish’ as it was commonly called in earlier times, is a stand or tray for holding inkpots, bottles, glasses, a pounce pot, pens, or other writing materials, and was generally designed to rest on a desk. From at least the fifteenth century onwards, inkstands could take various forms and be distinguished by varying degrees of elaboration.
This one stands 2 3/8 inches high, and is approximately 2 inches in diameter at its widest point.