Salt Cellar thumbnail 1
Salt Cellar thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Salt Cellar

ca. 1560 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Germany (made)
Italy (made)

This is a salt cellar made in Germany or Italy, about 1560. The cellar is made in gilt brass and represents a bearded man, probably Neptune, kneeling on a Dolphin and upholding a large pecten shell, which was probably moulded from nature, on his shoulders. The group is supported on a circular moulded base or plinth.


Object details

Categories
Images Online
Sculpture
Household Objects
SCRAN
Object type
Salt cellar
Materials and techniques
Gilt brass
Gilt Brass
Brief description
Salt cellar, gilt bronze, a bearded man on a dolphin supporting a shell, German or Italian, probably late 16th century
Physical description
Gilt bronze salt cellar formed by a bearded man on a dolphin supporting a shell. The dolphin emerges out of the sea. Made out of three parts, the figure of the man, the base with the dolphin and the shell.
Dimensions
  • Height: 7.75cm
Object history
Bought from the Soulages Collection in 1865.
Production
Germany or Italy
Subjects depicted
Man
Dolphin
Shell
Summary
This is a salt cellar made in Germany or Italy, about 1560. The cellar is made in gilt brass and represents a bearded man, probably Neptune, kneeling on a Dolphin and upholding a large pecten shell, which was probably moulded from nature, on his shoulders. The group is supported on a circular moulded base or plinth.
Bibliographic references
  • Robinson, John Charles. Catalogue of the Soulages Collection. London: Chapman & Hall, 1856, p. 124
  • Fortnum, C. Drury. E. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Bronzes of European Origin in the South Kensington Museum. London: George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1876, p.183
  • Planiscig, Leo. Piccoli Bronzi del Rinascimento. Milano: Fratelli Treves, 1930, p. 132
  • Radcliffe, Anthony. European Bronze Statuettes. London: Connoisseur, Joseph, 1966, pp. 20, 85
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1865. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 53
  • Treml, Manfred (ed.) Salz Macht Geschichte, Augsburg : Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte, 1995 RO 106 b
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
627-1865

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Record createdJanuary 22, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O73337/salt-cellar-unknown/
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