Salt cellar from Augsburg

This valuable product of artistic handicraft is a silver and gold-plated salt cellar – an example of Baroque goldsmithing from Augsburg – which was one of the most important European gold smithery centres. This marked work of the local goldsmith, Hans Leucker, working in the years 1641–1666.
The goldsmith Hans Leucker made a circular, not too deep, container for salt, on three decoratively curled stems. The sides, with vertical divisions are decorated with an embossed decoration (forged in sheet silver) of stylized acanthus leaves. Acanthus is a plant with large, deeply cut leaves, that occurs in the wild in Mediterranean countries. Its forms have been widely used in ornaments since antiquity.