O-4789
•
inkstand

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inkstand

Specifications

Artists	T. Dunlop Rankin (associated designer) • Paul Beau (maker) • Walter Rowan and Company (maker)
Date	1925/12/08
Materials	metal, wrought iron • metal, brass • wood, walnut • wood, ebony
Dimensions (cm)	39.0 (Length) • 39.0 (Width) • 30.2 (Height)
Functions	Written communication tools and equipment

Inkstand

This ink stand was designed and made by Dunlop Rankin and Paul Beau in 1925 for the Clerk’s table in the Commons chamber, where it still sits today when the Commons is in session.

For a small object — 30 centimetres high by 39 centimetres wide and long — it is grand in appearance and rich in detail. From its walnut base, a central shaft sports the shields of England, France, Scotland and Ireland, with maple leaves, rope molding and battlements supporting a domed roof and crown cap. Four mythological wyverns attend the corners, like formidable guards of the pen holder baskets between them.

Paul Beau

Paul Beau (1871–1949) of Montreal was a master metal worker associated with Canada’s Arts and Crafts movement. The movement emerged in Britain in response to the factory production of decorative items and gained popularity in urban centres across the Empire from the 1890s through the 1920s. Because of the emphasis it puts on handcrafted elements and traditional materials, the Arts and Crafts style was especially compatible with the Gothic Revival architecture of the Parliament buildings.

Beau supervised a wrought iron workshop on the grounds of Parliament from 1920 through 1926, where he and his team of artisans produced decorative metalwork for the newly opened Centre Block. Their handiwork is visible throughout the building in the form of fireplace accessories, light fixtures, gates, and railings—even certain door hinges. Beau also created the ornate calendar stand, inkstand and seal press placed on the Clerk’s Table in the House of Commons, combining metals of contrasting colours, a technique that is characteristic of his work.

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