Italy, Urbino, 16th century / c. 1570–90
Saltcellar
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Saltcellar as ceramic (Italy, Urbino, 16th century · c. 1570–90).
During the Renaissance, salt was an expensive commodity and was used to both season and preserve food.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ceramic as tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica) and credits the Patanazzi Family (Italian).
The museum's collection notes: During the Italian Renaissance of the 1400s and 1500s, nobles and merchants eager to express their wealth and sophistication ordered ceramics for dining, display, and storage. Known as maiolica, because it resembled the brightly colored ceramics from the Mediterranean island of Majorca, these ceramic vessels were covered with a tin glaze that provided an opaque white surface on which colorful decoration could be painted.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtSaltcellarOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.