Inkwells
From the days when every desk in the world had at least one inkwell come Victorian inkwells. The functional requirements of an inkwell are simple and can be met easily by a wide variety of materials. In other words the requirements of function did not seriously hamper the creative mind!
If you want to see where that leads, in a time when ornate was worshiped, just do an Ebay search for Victorian Inkwells. You will find the most amazing combinates of wood, brass, glass, and other materials you could ever imagine; would you believe a leather traveling inkwell?.
The Victorian era may have passed but you will also notice most of the items have bids and some of them have lots of bids. Modern collectors are willing to pay well over $100 for some of these inkwells.