Saltcellar in Baluster Form: Bacchic Procession; Putti and Satyrs

Master IC faced the challenge of fitting a procession around the concave base of this saltcellar rather than on the convex body of a ewer (1916.4.35). The artist takes advantage of the complex baluster shapes by adapting decoration to their sides: women holding garlands on the knop and seated male figures flanking comic heads on the bowl. The bust of an ancient Roman fits inside the bowl, where it would have been discovered beneath the salt had it actually been used at a banquet.

Source: Wardropper, Ian and Julia Day. Limoges Enamels at The Frick Collection. New York: The Frick Collection/D Giles Limited, 2015.