Inkhorn
Ink-horn
(קֶסֶת, ke'seth, a round vessel, an inkstand. worn in the girdle (Eze 9:2-3,11). This implement is one of considerable antiquity; it is common throughout the Levant, and is often seen in the houses of the Greeks. To one end of a long brass tube for holding pens is attached the little case containing the moistened sepia used for ink, which is closed with a lid and snap, and the whole stuck with much importance in the girdle. This is, without doubt, substantially the instrument borne by the individual whom Ezekiel mentions as "one man clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side." We find the Egyptian scribes had likewise a cylindrical box for ink, which was probably carried in a similar manner. Besides these, the modern Egyptians have a regular inkstand for more extensive writing. The ancient Egyptians had writing-tablets, which are square pallets of wood; with longitudinal grooves to hold the kash or small reeds used for writing; the well, for color, in some is in the usual form of an oval or signet; towards the upper end of the pallet on others is inscribed the name of the owner. In bronze, there are cylindrical boxes for ink, with a chain for the pen-case, the whole similar to the hieroglyphical symbol for scribe or writing. The monuments likewise represent scribes with inkstands in their left hands, containing two bottles for different colored inks (Wilkinson, 2, 176). SEE WRITING.
