The Cellini Salt Cellar is a part-enamelled gold table sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini (c.1500-1571). It was completed in 1543 for Francis I of France (r.1515-1547), from silver plate models that had been prepared many years earlier for Cardinal Ippolito d'Este (c.1479-1520).
Cellini Salt Cellar
The Saliera
A salt cellar is an article of tableware for holding and dispensing salt. In British English, the term can be used for what in North American English are called salt shakers. Salt cellars can be either lidded or open, and are found in a wide range of sizes, from large shared vessels to small individual dishes. Styles range from simple to ornate or whimsical, using materials including glass and ceramic, metals, ivory and wood, and plastic.
An English glass salt cellar, circa 1720
Black-glaze salt cellar. Terracotta, 5th century BC, Athens.
Cellini's Salt Cellar, made for Francis I of France, 1540–1543. Gold, partly enameled, with an ebony base. Depicts Earth and Sea personified.
Formal place setting for a 12 course dinner; individual salt cellar at top of place setting