Double salt or pepper box
By the late 17th century, salt, which had been contained in extraordinarily ornate receptacles during the medieval and renaissance periods, had lost its prior ceremonial significance. Changes in custom and dining practices led to spice and condiments being used at a diner’s discretion. New, much smaller, forms developed during the eighteenth century. Salt or pepper boxes were generally made in sets so that each diner could have one within easy reach. . It is uncertain which spices were contained in these receptacles, although the two hinged scallop-shell covers and the scallop-shell motif on the base may allude to the marine origins of salt.
Daughter of one of the founders of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Catherine D. Wentworth (1865–1948) was an art student and painter who lived in France for thirty years. She became one of the most important American collectors of eighteenth-century French silver and on her death in 1948 bequeathed part of her significant collection of silver, gold boxes, French furniture, and textiles to the Metropolitan Museum. The collection is particularly strong in domestic silver as illustrated by these salt and pepper boxes.
Daughter of one of the founders of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Catherine D. Wentworth (1865–1948) was an art student and painter who lived in France for thirty years. She became one of the most important American collectors of eighteenth-century French silver and on her death in 1948 bequeathed part of her significant collection of silver, gold boxes, French furniture, and textiles to the Metropolitan Museum. The collection is particularly strong in domestic silver as illustrated by these salt and pepper boxes.
Artwork Details
- Title: Double salt or pepper box
- Maker: Edme-Pierre Balzac (1705–ca. 1786, master 1739, recorded 1781)
- Date: 1766–68
- Culture: French, Paris
- Medium: Silver
- Dimensions: Overall: 2 1/4 × 3 3/4 × 6 3/8 in. (5.7 × 9.5 × 16.2 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork-Silver
- Credit Line: Bequest of Catherine D. Wentworth, 1948
- Object Number: 48.187.122
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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