Bellman’s Ink Well

The soapstone ink well features a small human figure intertwined with a lotus flower. Originally, it likely served as a brush-washing bowl or brush rest. It was made in China, where brush and ink calligraphy was itself a revered art form.

China and chinoiserie in the 18th century

The ink well probably arrived in Sweden on one of the East India Company’s ships. During the 18th century, Sweden’s privileged trading company held a monopoly on all trade with Asia. The opening of trade routes to China fuelled Europe’s appetite for all things Chinese among its wealthier classes.

China’s influence even touched Swedish architecture. The foremost example is the Chinese Pavilion in Drottningholm Palace Park just outside Stockholm. The pavilion was a gift from King Adolf Fredrik to Queen Lovisa Ulrika. The young Crown Prince Gustav (later Gustav III) is said to have appeared dressed as a Chinese prince when he handed over the pavilion’s keys to his mother.

The text on the lid

Once the ink well reached Sweden, it was fitted with a silver spout and lid. The lid bears a royal crown and the inscription: “AF K: G III TIL. C.M. BELLMAN. ANNO 1776” (From King Gustav III to C. M. Bellman 1776). That same year, Bellman was appointed secretary to the Royal State Lottery. He also became a court secretary.

From 1775, the king granted him an annual pension of 100 riksdaler, money that allowed him to devote himself to poetry. It’s said that Gustav III first noticed Bellman in 1772. Around the time of the king’s coup, Bellman’s tribute song “Gustavs skål” spread in praise of the monarch. Bellman also founded an honorary society in the king’s name, meeting three times a year to celebrate “Gustaf’s enlightened, gentle and good reign.”

When Bellman lifted the lid of his ink well to write, he was met with the inscription around the rim: “NECKEN.HAN.TITTAR.UR.HAFVET.UP” (roughly: The Nixie comes out of the sea). Perhaps a playful nod to Bellman himself. The Nixie, a water spirit, lured people into ruin with his music. So too did Bellman’s own tales of drinking, revelry, tavern brawls and erotic escapades. Bellman provided courtly entertainment on many occasions in the 1770s.

Bellman's last years

In 1772 Gustav III had become an absolute monarch. Discontent festered among parts of the nobility, culminating in the king’s assassination in 1792 in an attempt to topple absolutism. Bellman’s long-time patron was now dead. In 1794, the poet was imprisoned in the castle’s guard wing over unpaid debts. He died the following year and was buried at Klara churchyard in Stockholm.

How long the ink well remained in Bellman’s family is unknown. In 1879 it was acquired by the Swedish History Museum from a private collector in Östergötland, who had purchased it at auction.