Inkstand Taxonomy

This taxonomic approach is based on the perceived "most significant feature or aspect" of the candidate inkstand, and is thus subject to the biases and predilections of the observer. This approach favors structural and functional attributes over, say, materials and origin. Though the latter aspects are clearly of keen interest to most collectors, the material content and provinence of most inkstands are much more difficult to establish consistantly as classifying or distinguishing attributes than other observables such as structure and function. Thus the following list is a preliminary attempt to establish such a taxonomy for catagorizing inkstands that is based on intrinsic, distinguishing observables of the candidate.