Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Silver, Room 69, The Whiteley Galleries

Salt

ca. 1600 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Small triangular salt cellars mounted on three feet were common pieces of tableware in affluent homes in late 16th-century Germany. The cities of Nuremberg and Augsburg dominated the goldsmiths’ craft in Germany from the 15th to the early 19th centuries. Engraved designs for silver flowed off their printing presses into workshops across Europe. Their goldsmiths and merchants travelled widely, the former sometimes settling in cities that promised new sources of patronage, the latter selling silver goods as far north as the Baltic Sea and as far east as Russia.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver-gilt
Brief description
Salt, gilded silver, cast and chased, Germany, maker's mark unknow, ca. 1600
Physical description
Silver-gilt, triangular with circular centre, three feet at each point of the triangle formed by cast and chased dolphins, alternating masks and animals on top.
Dimensions
  • Height: 9.50cm
  • Length: 2.30cm
Marks and inscriptions
maker's mark 'M', unidentified.
Gallery label
SALT Silver-gilt Unmarked. About 1600. Given by W. L. Hildburgh FSA. M36-1953(Pre-2000)
Credit line
Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh
Object history
Acquisition RF: 52/4221
Dr WL Hildburgh FSA Gift (From Whitcombe Green Collection)
Summary
Small triangular salt cellars mounted on three feet were common pieces of tableware in affluent homes in late 16th-century Germany. The cities of Nuremberg and Augsburg dominated the goldsmiths’ craft in Germany from the 15th to the early 19th centuries. Engraved designs for silver flowed off their printing presses into workshops across Europe. Their goldsmiths and merchants travelled widely, the former sometimes settling in cities that promised new sources of patronage, the latter selling silver goods as far north as the Baltic Sea and as far east as Russia.
Collection
Accession number
M.36-1953

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Record createdFebruary 9, 2004
Record URL
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