The inconvenience of a central standing salt receptacle at the dining table encouraged the development in the early 17th century of much smaller salt cellars, which were set near individual place settings. In the late 18th century, pierced oval shaped cellars with liners in a neo-classical revival style were common. This example has pierced sides with arcading and two, removeable, blue glass liners.

Sheffield plate originated, with the discovery in 1742, that bars of silver and copper, in unequal proportions, fused by heating under pressure, could be rolled into sheets of laminated metal and worked like silver. The industry this material created flourished for about 100 years until superseded by electroplating in the 1840s.