[1][2] They were generally portable objects, intended to sit on the table or desk where the person was writing.
At the most basic, an inkstand had a pen, a tightly-capped inkwell, and a sand shaker for rapidly drying the ink after it was written on the page.
[1][2] In wealthier households, they were most often made of silver[3] or sometimes porcelain, and could be decorated with crystal, mother of pearl, gold, or even jewels.
[1][2] Inkstands with tightly closing lids, often finely made, were part and parcel of a traveling kit, until the widespread use of the fountain pen.
Inkstands were going out of use before the development of ballpoint pen, which finished them as a primary source of ink.