A beautifully cast Art Nouveau desk seal, the hollow baluster handle worked in deep repoussé with a phoenix rising amid sinuous whiplash scrolls — the unmistakable language of the fin de siècle. Below, a band of stylized geometric ornament tapers to a turned, flared foot. The silvered surface has aged to a soft, shadowed patina that pools handsomely in the recesses and throws the bird into relief.
