Salt Cellar thumbnail 1
Salt Cellar thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Silver, Room 69, The Whiteley Galleries

Salt Cellar

1692 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Restrained designs for silver grew increasingly popular throughout the second half of the 17th century, possibly in reaction to the theatrical grandeur of much Baroque silver. The combination of controlled forms with pierced hearts and scrolls, matted (punched) surfaces, bands of beading and cut-card work (pierced sheets of silver applied to the surface) was typical of goldsmiths' work around Amsterdam in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. A fine layer of gold has been applied to the bowl of this salt cellar to prevent the salt reacting with the silver.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver, parcel-gilt
Brief description
Dutch. Amsterdam mark for 1692.; Silver, Continental
Physical description
Square salt with hemispherical bowl supported by a square base with pierced scrolls and frosted decoration, the bowl parcel-gilt
Dimensions
  • Height: 6.00cm
  • Length: 9.00cm
  • Width: 9.00cm
Marks and inscriptions
On the base: maker's mark, FM monogram, unidentified; town mark for Amsterdam for 1692
Gallery label
Silver Gallery: Restrained designs for silver grew increasingly popular throughout the second half of the 17th century, possibly in reaction to the theatrical grandeur of much Baroque silver. A fine layer of gold has been applied to the bowl to prevent the salt reacting with the silver.(26/11/2002)
Credit line
Given by Col. F. R. Waldo-Sibthorp
Object history
Acquisition RF: 96867/1898
Colonel FR Waldo-Sibthorp Gift
Production
maker's mark FM unidentified
Summary
Restrained designs for silver grew increasingly popular throughout the second half of the 17th century, possibly in reaction to the theatrical grandeur of much Baroque silver. The combination of controlled forms with pierced hearts and scrolls, matted (punched) surfaces, bands of beading and cut-card work (pierced sheets of silver applied to the surface) was typical of goldsmiths' work around Amsterdam in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. A fine layer of gold has been applied to the bowl of this salt cellar to prevent the salt reacting with the silver.
Bibliographic reference
The Golden Age of Dutch Silver, Charles Oman, V&A 1953
Collection
Accession number
1903-1898

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Record createdFebruary 9, 2004
Record URL
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