This is a Sheffield plate salt cellar. Smaller salt cellars that stood near individual plates developed in the early 17th century. They replaced the inconvenient central standing salt. This salt cellar dates from about 1790. At this time pierced oval-shaped cellars in the Neo-classical style were common. They had four ball-and-claw feet and coloured glass liners.

The plater used a fly press to stamp the pierced decoration. Fly presses contained a shaped punch that pressed out patterns in silver-plated copper or Sheffield plate. Silversmiths traditionally used the fretsaw to cut patterns out of silver sheet. However, sawing plated objects tended to disturb the thin layer of silver and expose the edge of the copper beneath the silver plate. As the fly press pierced the plate metal, it also ingeniously dragged the top layer of silver over the edge of the copper. It joined it to the layer of silver on the underside and thereby concealed the cut copper edge.