Baccarat Salt Cellar

Baccarat Salt Cellar

France | 19th Century

Cobalt crystal, banded in gilt neoclassical ornament: a laurel wreath at the front, flanked by scrolling foliage and palmettes, with a fine beaded border running below the rim. Small, and entirely unwilling to be overlooked.

Baccarat has worked glass in Lorraine since 1764, and colored crystal finished with gilding in the neoclassical taste was a staple of the house repertoire for the dressed table. The decoration here is crisply drawn and generously applied, the wreath centered on the front and the border carried around the whole.

A salt cellar belonged to a table where salt was presented rather than dispensed, one set at each place or shared between two, with a small spoon in bone or vermeil. The object survives it very well, and is just as happy holding rings beside a sink, paper clips on a desk. 2.75” x 2” 

Details

• Maker: Baccarat
• Material: Cobalt crystal with gilt decoration
• Origin: France
• Date: 19th century
• Condition: Excellent antique condition, with only the faintest wear to the gilding consistent with age and use