Saltcellar: Amorini and Satyrs

In the mid-sixteenth century, Limoges enamelers began to produce non-religious objects such as plates, ewers, cups, and saltcellars in grisaille. The workshop of Pierre Reymond specialized in such objects, which were collected throughout Europe. Kept in a private cabinet or on a sideboard during a formal banquet, these pieces were not used for food or to contain water, wine, or salt but rather were appreciated as decorative objects. Italian classical models, then highly fashionable in France, inspired the baluster form of this saltcellar, as well as its decorative motifs composed of satyrs, naked cherubs (amorini or putti), grotesques (fantastical figures and animals), and figures in medallions.

Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.

M. Boy, Paris. His sale, May 15–24, 1905, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, Lot 221. J. Pierpont Morgan, London and New York. Duveen. Frick, 1916.

Source: Enamels, Rugs and Silver in The Frick Collection. Volume VIII. New York: The Frick Collection, 1977.