Triple Salt Cellar
c. 1765
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain with enamel decoration
Dimensions
7.7 × 10.2 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Decorative Art and Design
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1953.279
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
In 16th-century France, salt was costly and often displayed in exceptionally designed and decorated salt cellars that reinforced wealth and status. Still elegantly designed and ornamented, this triple salt cellar is small, a result of the decreasing decorative and symbolic importance of salt in the latter half of the 1700s. With its floral decoration and whimsical monkey-shaped handle, this object’s design is characteristic of the Rococo style.
About the Artist
Mennecy Factory (French)
Georges Hugnet (1906–1974) was a multifaceted French artist, poet, writer, and critic whose innovative collages and graphic works bridged Dada and Surrealism. Born in Paris on July 11, 1906, he spent much of his early childhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, returning to France around 1913. His early life and artistic training remain sparsely documented, with no records of formal art school attendanc...