Pair of salt or pepper boxes
Not on view
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 customs 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.
Examples of salt or pepper boxes of this model were made in Paris as early as the 1740s and continued to be produced in the provinces until the 1770s.
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