Welcome to the world of inkwells!

My name is Leonid Belsky

I have been collecting inkwells for many years. My collection inlcude 400+ inkwells from 40+ countries, dated from 17th to 20th centuary.

Selected inkwells from Leonid Belsky collection.

"Animal inkwells".
Exhibition at Moscow Darwin Museum.

"The mysterious world of inkwells". Exibition at Mytishy Art Gallery.

World of inkwells

Earliest forms of inkwells date back to the Ancient Egyptians. In Europe, prior to the sixteenth century, writing was considered to be a lowly task. A scribe would write using a quill pen and ink on behalf of the aristocrat.

From the seventeenth century onwards the art of writing spread across Europe and inkwells became more decorative. Inkwells made from porcelain, sterling silver, pewter, cast iron, brass, wood, and other natural materials became fashionable.

I invite you to the world of inkwells!

About the project - "The history of ink writting"

"In an age of technology where e-mail, texting, and Twitter have become ubiquitous, handwriting are considered archaic and irrelevant by young people. Once-commonplace tools, inkwells become forgotten......"

The project objectives:

Organizing educational exhibitions to engage young people and make young people interested in handwriting/inkwells/ink writting tools. Interactive exibitions, where the visitors not only can look on antique inkwells and writing tools, but also could try old fashioned handwriting using the reed, quill and dip pens....

The project started in 2021 based on my private collection with a help of my friends/antique lovers, the members of a local antique collectors club.

Project achievements (2021-2023):

7 exibitions devoted to inlwells attracted more than 30000 visitors at various Russian Museums and Art Galleries (link to exibitions page).

100+ masterclasses arranged for 1000+ young participants learning how to use various ink writting tools. From old fashioned (the reed, quill and dip pens) to the modern fountain pens.