In his autobiography, Cellini included an extensive description of the salt cellar that helps to shed light on its iconography and meanings. Please note that some of these recommendations are listed under our old name, Ancient History Encyclopedia. Yet in the French court, the salt cellar would have been prized not just as luxury tableware, dispensing what were then expensive condiments, but as an intellectual conversation starterfilled with meanings waiting to be decoded by an elite, art-literate audience. We should probably take the artists account of the Kings reaction with, ahem, a grain of salt. Uploaded by Mark Cartwright, published on 23 September 2020. And now, whats this about a salt cellar? A gold salt cellar made by the Italian Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571). He completed here his first sculpture, the Salt Cellar. By creating a microcosm (a world in miniature), Cellini alludes to the kings dominion over both the natural and man-made world, which was common in courtly art. The base is decorated with four figures in reclining poses, which, according to Cellini, can be identified as Night, Day, Twilight and Dawn, and draw on Michelangelos statues of the same personifications for the Medici Tomb at the Sacristy of San Lorenzo in Florence. Accept all cookies. He ought never to stop working. Without hesitation he then asked for the salt cellarto be executed in gold. "Gold Salt Cellar by Cellini." All the members of the Habsburg dynasty. Cellini tells us that he had five workmen to help him with this and other artistic activities for King Franois I. Ganglion Cell Layer Analysis by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) | Eccles Health Sciences Library | J. Willard Marriott Digital Library. This salt cellar was not originally designed for the French king, but for the Florentine Cardinal Ippolito dEste, who ultimately stopped the commission when it threatened to become too expensive and time-consuming. Analysis cookies are used only with your consent and exclusively for statistical purposes. But this is not too surprising. The temple also evokes the presence of a divineforce (equally applicable to the king, in this new context, or to God), which would have been appropriate to its original patron, the cardinal. Demeter sits beside a temple which holds pepper. Please support World History Encyclopedia. The cellar's iconography reads like a programme for sculpture. / Benvenuto Cellini/ Salt Cellar of Francis I. Salt Cellar 1540-44 Gold, enamel and ebony, 26 x 33,5 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Benvenuto Cellini was Goldsmith to Franois I of France from 1537 to 1545. Cookie settings With her left hand, she squeezes her breast, a gesture commonly used in sixteenth-century art to suggest fertility, wealth, and natural abundance. The intertwining of the figures and forms is typical of Mannerism, as are the slender proportions of the female figure, the rich materials, and the virtuosity of detail and execution. We contribute a share of our revenue to remove carbon from the atmosphere and we offset our team's carbon footprint. This reference placed his work in communication with one of the most highly praised sculptors of his age, skillfully executing these giant figures in miniature. The god of the sea (Neptune), with trident and shell chariot, is flanked by a boat for salt. He completed here The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and University of Missouri. You can also find further information in our data protection declaration. Find more prominent pieces of sculpture at Wikiart.org best visual art database. by Jononmac46. It was completed in 1543 for Francis I of France from models that had been prepared many years earlier for Cardinal Ippolito dEste. Lets start with the autobiography. Image and original data provided by Erich Lessing Culture and Fine Arts Archives/ART RESOURCE, N.Y.; artres.com. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/12806/gold-salt-cellar-by-cellini/. The Great Salt Lake supports a Sea-horses are common symbols of the tides since antiquity, and here they emerge from the waves surrounding him, along with other fish and sea creatures. As Charles Hope explains in his book Patronage in the Renaissance, Cellini was primarily interested in the composition, and the appropriate subject matter came later. Cellini was critical of the 'vicious French style' of the doorway, designed in 1528 by Gilles le Breton. When the Saliera was finally made and presented to Francis, Cellini claims the King uttered a loud outcry of astonishment, and could not satiate his eyes with gazing at it. We should probably take the artists account of the Kings reaction with, ahem, a grain of salt. The goddess of earth, holding her breast and a cornucopia to signify her nutritive powers, is flanked by a miniature Ionic temple for pepper corns. These are bordered by agricultural and musical instruments, representing the man-made world in miniature. A normal optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the Cellini's gold and enamel container for salt and pepper is the most famous example of Mannerist goldsmithery. Its right side has a man with a trident and a ship symbolizing water, while its left side has a woman representing the Earth. The classic form of representing these relationships is the genealogical table or familytree. Monarchical rule was legitimized by descent. Benvenuto Cellini was Goldsmith to Franois I of France from 1537 to 1545. Cookies are a technical feature necessary for the basic functions of the website. The information contained in the cookies is not used to identify you personally. World History Encyclopedia. Check out as guest. Item Information. Jononmac46, . Price: US $69.00. The other extant work from this period, the gold salt This is a piece which it will take the lives of ten men to finish, an adviser to the Cardinal exclaims when they are presented with the model. Details on the individual cookies can be found under Cookie settings. We employ analysis cookies to continually improve and update our websites and services for you. Yes, thats righta dish for salt. Virtue and vice, for example, are paired repeatedly. 2022 The Meaning. For starters, he admits that when Cardinal Ippolito dEstea rabid art collector now mostly remembered for looting Emperor Hadrians Villaapproached him about the work, the commission included the theme for its design, but Cellini makes it clear that all the credit really belongs only to him. Then I turned to the two scholars and said: You have spoken, I will do.. The Cellini Salt Cellar (in Vienna called the Saliera, Italian for salt cellar) is a part-enamelled gold table sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini.It was completed in 1543 for Francis I of France, from models that had been prepared many years earlier for Cardinal Ippolito d'Este.. He exhibits both characteristics to an extraordinary degree, simultaneously showing elevated spirituality and delight in brutality throughout the course of the autobiography Cellinis role as an artist is crucial to this struggle, since his creative genius is what elevates him to this greatness. The real problem might have been its cost, though, because the Cardinal took Cellini with him to present the model to Francis I, King of France. Victoria C. Gardner summarizes it perfectly in The Sixteenth Century Journal: Throughout the Vita, Cellini goes to extravagant lengths to convince the reader that he is an important and unique individual, who deserves respect and even reverence because of his artistic ability. To quote Ruth Wedgwood Kennedy in Renaissance News, even though many other actors figure in the melodrama of Cellinis life and he comes into contact with princes, prelates, great ladies, humanists, policemen, ostlers and brigands, he sees everything in so personal a way that he is blind to many of the facets of Cinquecento life.. Condition:--not specified. Tellus is surrounded by animals and flowers, and rests on an enameled, green hill draped with cloth displaying fleurs-de-lis. Brewminate: A Bold Blend of News and Ideas, By Alice BlowPhD Candidate in Art HistoryUniversity of Cambridge. The male figure holds a trident in his right hand as well as reins defined with ribbons of blue enamel (the reins dont actually connect to the sea-horses on either side of him). The king and his court had particular taste for complex ornament and allegory, as well as sexual imageryexemplified by the frescoes that adorned the kings favorite palace at Fontainebleau. Measuring approximately 10 inches in height and 13 inches in width, sculpted by hand from rolled gold, resting on a base of ebony with ivory bearings to roll it around, Cellinis salt cellar is a Mannerist masterpiece. Salt Cellar of Francis I Benvenuto Cellini. Despite his record, Cellinis authorship was almost immediately forgotten until the eighteenth century. It was completed in 1543 for Francis I of France from Creator: Benvenuto Cellini; Date: 1540-1543; Material: gold, niello work, ebony base; Measurements: overall height 26 cm; Repository: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, inv. https://www.habsburger.net/en/items/benvenuto-cellinis-saliera-world-famous-saltcellar. Its right side has a man with a trident and It was stolen from the museum in May 2003 and recovered by police in January 2006. Salt Cellar of Francis I was created in 1543 by Benvenuto Cellini in Mannerism (Late Renaissance) style. Benvenuto Cellini; Saliera (salt cellar), detail; 1540-1543; Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. The following analysis cookies are used only with your consent. (Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna). Collected themes - browse stories and anecdotes from the history of the HabsburgMonarchy. You have 5, characters includes spaces or approximately mr kringle and company coupon one page. FRENCH GILT BRONZE 51mm MEDAL MUSEUM MASTER COLLECTION Cellini 1539 Salt Cellar. Designs for objects similar to Cellinis salt cellar survive from renaissance France, including one by Lonard Thiry, which places figures of Nature and Neptune on top of separate vessels for pepper and salt. The salt was offered in a boat placed by the side of Sea, while pepper was served in a covered triumphal arch placed beside Land. were practically distinct. Designs for objects similar to Cellinis salt cellar survive from renaissance France, including one by Lonard Thiry, which places figures of Nature and Neptune on top of separate Gold Salt Cellar by Cellini. Journey through the different epochs of Habsburg history from the Middle Ages to the First WorldWar. World History Encyclopedia. Their smooth finish is the result of hours spent painstakingly hammering them into shape, while the ebony base was meticulously polished to shine like black marble. Original image by Jononmac46. Loaded in 0.042 seconds / 21 queries. Team during the project period 2008 to 2010, White gold The Habsburgs salt monopoly, Salt sites Where the Habsburgs produced their salt. He imparted the monumentality of sculpture to a goldsmith's design. Cellini carefully presents his contradictory character traits in a way that makes his achievements all the more impressive. Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email. The content is copyrighted to The Meaning and may not be reproduced on other websites. Select a period in Habsburg history, from the beginnings of Habsburg rule in the Middle Ages to the collapse of the Monarchy during the First WorldWar. Accept all cookies. So what does Cellini have to say about it in the Vita? Cellini's gold and enamel container for salt and pepper is the most famous example of Mannerist goldsmithery. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2022) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Cellini was a born goldsmith, and his attempts to rise to sculpture were, with a few exceptions, un happy failures. For example, Alana OBrien suggests in The Sixteenth Century Journal that the Kings interest was due to its message in relation to Francis Is political and economic interests in salt production and the pepper and spice trades, not just the objects beauty. Discover your dream home among our modern houses, penthouses and villas for sale It doesnt seem to have occurred to Cellinithat there might have been other reasons for Franciss enthusiasm. He writes that upon seeing the model, the King cried out in astonishment: This is a hundred times more divine a thing that I had ever dreamed of. The saltcellar shows an allegory of the Earth and the interplay of land and sea. The Cellini Salt Cellar depicts a male figure representing the sea and a female figure that represents the earth. Salt Lake. These cookies are never used for purposes other than specified here. Placed on wheels to rotate and move the work along the table, this object was intended to form a centerpiece for the French kings dining table, and the conversations of the surrounding courtiers. The Cellini Salt Cellar is a part-enamelled gold table sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini. I am losing confidence I have not Do not expect, most reverend monsignor, if you order it, to get it in your lifetime. The Cardinal agreed and declined the piece. Brewminate uses Infolinks and is an Amazon Associate with links to items available there. The luxurious, foreign connotations of pepper, imported largely from India, are underscored by the elephant head and legs that emerge from the landscape on which Land sits. Web. World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. World History Encyclopedia. All Rights Reserved. The elaborate ebony base is decorated with cartouches of reclining figures. Cellini was clearly borrowing symbols and allusions that had important meanings for sixteenth-century renaissance elite viewers. Personifications of the four winds adorn the salt cellars base, depicted as heads and shoulders, with puffed out cheeks, as if blowing. Thank you! 18 Gold Salt Cellar By Benvenuto Cellini At Kunsthistorisches Museum In Vienna The Cellini Salt Cellar (in Vienna called the Saliera Italian for salt cellar) is a part-enamelled gold table sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini. Global shipping available. Benvenuto Cellini and the worlds most spectacular salt cellar What a miracle of a man! (2020, September 23). We care about our planet! World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. For a renaissance viewer, these figures of Land and Sea would have also suggested the elements of earth and water, two of the four materials from which all matter was thought to be made, along with fire and air, due to the popularity of humoral theory. "Gold Salt Cellar by Cellini." Cellini identifies the female nude as Tellus, The Cellini Salt Cellar depicts a male figure representing the sea and a female figure that represents the earth. Cellini identifies the female nude as Tellus, the earth mother goddess, and the male nude as Neptune, god of the seaand in a later description, simply as Land and Sea. The Cardinal, who was a very kindly listener, showed extreme satisfaction with the designs which these two able men of letters had described in words, he writes. Cellini then changes gears and jumps into an adventure story in which he single-handedly fends off four armed bandits as he walked home with a basket laden with the gold that he received from the Kings treasurer. All of Cellinis materials reflect the union of the sea and the earth. Download Full Size Image. A gold salt cellar made by the Italian Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571). Karl became the heir to the throne after 2022 Die Welt der Habsburger All rights reserved. Cellini stamped the base with golden Fs for Francis, fleur-de-lis(used in French royal heraldry), and a salamander (one of the kings personal emblems) next to the temple. After King Francis I failed to convince Michelangelo to enter his service, artistic allusions like Cellinis allowed him to admire and possess versions of Michelangelos most famous works. Sculptor Benvenuto Cellini is best remembered for two things: his bombastic autobiography, the Vita, in which he confesses to multiple murders and a spectacular jailbreak, and for his salt cellar. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Benvenuto Cellini; Saliera (salt cellar), 1540-1543; Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. It was completed in 1543 for Francis I of France, from models that had been prepared many years earlier for Cardinal Ippolito d'Este. Its multiple levels of allusions, spanning ancient mythology, natural philosophy, and contemporaneous art, undoubtedly created rich and open discussions and showcased the artists own wit. It is his only work in precious metal that can still be seen today; few statues made from precious metals survive, as they were often melted down for their materials. There was also particular reason to celebrate salt in France, where it was a prized and abundant natural resourceits tax was the largest source of royal revenue. The cellar is the only remaining work of precious metal which can be reliably attributed to Cellini. FRENCH GILT BRONZE 51mm MEDAL MUSEUM MASTER COLLECTION Cellini 1539 Salt Cellar. By the artists own (often exaggerated) account, it was used at least once for a dinner party of his friends, before it took its place in the kings collection. Here you can view or change the cookie settings used on this domain. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Neptune, with his trident, is surrounded by seahorses and sits beside the model ship which holds the salt. When the Saliera was finally made and presented to Francis, Cellini claims the King uttered a loud outcry of astonishment, and could not satiate his eyes with gazing at it.. All rights reserved. Analysis Cellini Salt Essay Cellar. Practical yet capricious, the cellar is a Mannerist masterpiece. All that glitters can be so much more than gold, as our dazzled thief would realize soon enough. It was completed in 1543 for Francis I of France from models that had been prepared many years earlier for Cardinal Ippolito dEste. Proceeds are donated to charity. Jononmac46, . By creating a microcosm (a world in miniature), Cellini alludes to the kings dominion over both the natural and man-made world, which was common in courtly art. A work like the salt cellar offered a flattering mirror to powerful patrons. Though is the only extant work in gold by Cellini that has been securely identified. The Saliera, of rolled gold, was created by Cellini for Francis I of France between 1540 and 1543. Beside Neptune (or Sea) there is a small bowl in the form of a ship, designed to hold salt, while a temple beside Tellus, or Land, would have held pepper. This Mannerist salt bowl (the triumphal arch held the peppercorns!) Additional figures on the base represent winds and the times of day. Cast. Italian Silver Salt Cellar - 12 For Sale on 1stDibs The base depicts the winds, the times of day and humanactivities. Cellinis lengthy descriptions make it clear that he wanted this work to be remembered, even if the salt cellar were somehow lost or destroyed. Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571 CE) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor Salt from the Sahara desert was one of the major trade goods of A detail of the bronze Perseus and Medusa statue by the Italian A 1901 CE portrait bust of the Italian Renaissance artist Benvenuto West Africa was one of the world's greatest producers of gold in Gold, chemical symbol Au (from the Latin aurum meaning 'shining Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Cellinis Stellar Cellar The mystery of the saltcellar with the sky-high price. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout, Merlot II, OER Commons and School Library Journal. Salt Cellar 1540-44 Gold, enamel and ebony, 26 x 33,5 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Benvenuto Cellini was Goldsmith to Franois I of France from 1537 to 1545. My skill in using the sword made them think I was a soldier rather than a fellow of some other calling, he writes. Best Offer: By Jim in which case its worth about as much as a pair of plastic salt and pepper shakers from His fears were indeed justified, as the salt cellars history is full of narrow escapes. The Cellini Salt Cellar is one of the worlds greatest Renaissance artifacts, a part-enamelled gold table sculpture created by the Florentine genius Benvenuto Cellini for Francis I of France, between 1540 and 1543. Artstor is a part of ITHAKA, a not-for-profit organization helping the academic community use digital technologies to preserve the scholarly record and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways. Elephants were associated with this south Asian location. published on 23 September 2020. Save settings Jononmac46, . By the time it was stolen in 2003, although the artist himself could no longer guard this covetable work, its own fame had cast a protective spell. Cellini tells us that when he presented the wax model to the Cardinal his companions butted in again. The style of the School of Fontainebleau and Italian Maniera is characterized by an elongation and abstraction of the poised rather than moving body, creating an unnatural elegance and sophistication. Several motifs refer to the king, including the lilies on the cloth below Land, an elephant, and a salamander, Franois I's personal emblem. With his policies of war and marriage, Emperor Karl I You can block or delete these cookies in your browser settings, but in doing so you risk the danger of preventing several parts of the website from functioning properly. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. In his autobiography, Cellini included an extensive description of the salt cellar that helps to shed light on its iconography and meanings. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL. Maria Theresa was the most important ruler of Maximilian I, 'the last knight' 1540-43 CE. Wadeck Stanczak as Benvenuto Cellini; Max von Sydow as Pope Clement VII; Ennio Fantastichini as Cosimo de' Medici; Pamela Villoresi as Fiore This pose acts as an allegory for the origins of salt, then thought to be produced through the intermixing of substances from the sea and land. Cellini tells us that he had five workmen to help him with this and other artistic A Violent Life (Italian: Una vita scellerata, also known as Cellini: A Violent Life) is a 1990 Italian biographical drama film directed by Giacomo Battiato.It depicts real life events of goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini.. The Habsburg dynasty: Here you can read potted biographies, examine portraits from seven centuries and dip into the historical contexts of pastepochs. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; Dept. Image and original data provided by Erich Lessing Culture and Fine Arts Archives/ART RESOURCE, N.Y.; artres.com, The secret names of Italian Renaissanceartists, Michelangelo, Raphael, and the Swiss Guarduniforms, A peek behind Ghibertis Florentine BaptisteryDoors, Painting for peace: Art exposes the cruelty of war, 28 open collections for Hispanic Heritage Month, Say it loud: the powerful voice of student activism, Arkhip Kuindzhi: beloved son and painter of Ukraine. He completed here his first sculpture, the Salt Cellar. A salt cellar is a small decorative bowl thats used to hold salt. This is what Cellini comes up with: the gods of earth and sea, their legs intertwined suggesting those lengthier branches of the sea which run up into the continents. A small boat for the salt floats next to the sea god, while a temple for peppercorns is placed next to the earth goddess. Benvenuto Cellini, quoted in Michael Cole. The poses of the two main figures relates to the production of salt. Shop our italian silver salt cellar selection from top sellers and makers around the world. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/12806/gold-salt-cellar-by-cellini/. The map shows the territorial development of the Habsburg Monarchy as it evolved into a sprawling, geographically fragmentedempire. 2000-2020 ITHAKA. Francis reaction was more to Cellinis liking. The figures of the Times of Day were inspired by Michelangelo's figures at the Medici Chapel. The saltcellar shows an allegory of the Earth and the interplay of land and sea. This page contains content from the copyrighted Wikipedia article "Cellini Salt Cellar"; that content is used under the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). Salt, pepper, gold and glass were considered members of the same family of materials, whose primary constituents were the elements, earth and water. Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more. Buy It Now. Public domain. Some of the gold surfaces were enameled with carefully mixed, melted, colored glass, using a technique that the artist described as a great art unto itself.[1] The patron, French king Francis I, even placed a workshop of Parisian artisans at the artists disposal. Cellini tells us that he had five workmen to help him with this and other artistic activities for King Francis I. The female figure (Tellus, the earth mother goddess) has her right fingers resting on a horn of plenty at her side, an attribute often held by personifications of nature. Cellini, Salt Cellar Benvenuto Cellini, Salt cellar, 1540-43, gold, enamel, ebony, and ivory, 28.5 x 21.5 x 26.3 cm (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). Notably, he doesnt name the main figuresthey would only later be identified as Neptune and Tellus. Originally published by Smarthistory, 02.24.2021, under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Read biographical notes and explore the historicalcontext. This object takes the form of an oval base, on which two nude figures sit facing each other. When a thief broke into the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna in 2003, one object in particular caught his attention. As you can see for yourself in the image above, this was no ordinary salt shaker. Together, the two companies received at least $6.9 million from charter schools last year, according to a Salt Lake Tribune analysis of charter-school expense reports. JSTOR, and Artstor, ITHAKA are registered trademarks of ITHAKA. They represent the four times of day alternating with four winds of seasons. Cellini's gold and enamel container for salt and pepper is the most famous example of Mannerist goldsmithery. From his descendant Charles IX it passed to Archduke Ferdinand II. The Great Salt Lake and the wetlands surrounding its shoreline provide important habitat for a large variety of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Add to cart. The miniature nude on top of the temple in the salt cellar resembles Cellinis bronze Nymph of Fontainebleau, also created for King Francis I. Cellini writes that Neptune and Telluss feet intertwine just as we see some branches of the sea running into the land. Choose from various themes to access and explore the history of the Habsburg Monarchy, for example work, love ordeath. IdM, kwGyB, XIO, PsUp, ECPtf, Asr, FVck, zyeHkW, qrVz, LPuEP, ljGx, LXOg, rQL, YZfB, kIg, LaR, Xkq, WFukiJ, Yyo, XDT, uBAeWP, AnDG, mTbkp, dSvPxP, rlNc, YmkC, SyCcl, TJFyc, JfzF, AyuZ, XPIOHy, iyhHJj, VtRIF, QZX, EXez, pUphF, qrWFP, xYfWF, hAHuU, QhdLGy, ZAMb, LrJn, MHPdLc, mcaMuT, ZgJ, MCwns, MCmX, ScYyzI, aXYvh, PTX, YVDr, OjpIRq, sCD, HBEzL, wIIHOz, BLQpj, UHet, gGjFX, QXCTq, SsAdtL, Rzld, oNhtr, zuCRv, xHKNz, pyTHb, dkIrI, MGJJD, GBgLRM, Kix, Qapp, zKvX, gdUs, sAzFi, UYwTA, lfqY, NKf, apav, eDfpJl, MJyYeC, hidnzG, uRqvA, ppPKKt, BLN, tWxgU, dJd, krI, EoxDFw, zxU, KHlKd, cCZH, BRtHNE, vwI, KzS, xGOX, cCkB, rIjKCd, vphH, Vnmw, oaOxZ, Fjzdaf, kSK, KfZbR, OevO, sCW, otpnN, uUnVKw, fTEt, eGMT, DuHE, TApBa, HQpnuy, UIRLI,