Spice box with grater

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 the diner’s discretion.



A spice box like this with its bold gadrooning, elaborate engraving, and faceted profiles, may have been part of a large centerpiece or surtout. Other components of a surtout might include matching cruets for oil and vinegar, and spice boxes, as well as elaborate vessels or tureens supporting candle branches all standing on a decorative tray. The perfectly symmetrical table arrangement around the surtout emphasized the geometric form of the spice boxes.



The hinged compartments of this box contained dry spices for the table such as cloves, pepper, salt, and cinnamon. The interior is partitioned into a single container at one end and two at the other. At the center is a cylindrical grater for nutmeg which could be freshly ground at the table.



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 this spice box.