Salt was a symbol of purity in the 16th century and was held in often beautiful and elaborate containers also known as salts. This ceremonial salt, known as a ‘bell salt’, can be broken down into three sections comprising two salt cellars and a small caster. Bell salts superseded the more imposing drum salts and pedestal salts, for both decorative and domestic purposes, by the end of the 16th century. While the earliest surviving bell salts date to the 1590s, inventories show that they were in use long before this date.

This piece is an example of 16th century domestic silver. Such silver was both functional and ornamental. Objects for dining and drinking took elegant forms and were decorated in the latest styles. Beautifully crafted items intended only for display often adopted functional forms such as cups and dishes. Domestic silver was not confined to the most wealthy. Many people owned silver spoons or mounted vessels, items which often became treasured possessions.

Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert began collecting in the 1960s and over a period of 40 years formed one of the world’s great private collections of decorative arts. The collection consists of over 800 objects from the fields of European gold and silver, Italian mosaics and hardstone, portrait enamels and gold boxes. Sir Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996 to be housed at Somerset House, London, having previously been displayed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2008 the collection was moved to dedicated galleries in the V&A, where a selection has been on permanent display ever since.