Saltcellar

Art Historical Context

This delicate saltcellar, crafted between 1780 and 1825, exemplifies the refined tableware of the late Federal period in America or Georgian Britain. Standing just 3 inches tall, it served as a luxurious condiment holder on affluent dining tables, where salt was a prized commodity symbolizing hospitality and status. Its petite scale and elegant form highlight the era's taste for understated neoclassical luxury in everyday objects. Made from blown pattern-molded lead glass technique involving blowing molten glass into a patterned mold before free-forming—it achieves a sparkling clarity and sub...