Why it matters
This part-enamelled gold salt cellar, with the reclining figures of Sea and Earth, is the only surviving gold sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini and the most famous goldsmith's work of the Renaissance. He completed it in 1543 for King Francis I of France.
Did you know?
- It is known in Vienna as the Saliera.
- It was stolen in 2003 and recovered in 2006.
- Cellini said its price was 1,000 scudi.
- Neptune, for the sea, sits beside a ship that held the salt; Tellus, for the earth, beside a temple that held the pepper.
Based on the Wikipedia article Cellini Salt Cellar (CC BY-SA 4.0).
