Cellini Salt Cellar

Cellini Salt Cellar

The Cellini Salt Cellar (in Vienna called the Saliera - Italian for salt cellar) is a part-enameled 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.

It was modelled and cast by the Italian sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini for Francis I of France sometime between 1539 and 1543. It came into the possession of the Habsburgs as a gift by Charles IX of France to Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol. It was originally part of the Hapsburg art collection at Castle Ambras, but was transferred to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna during the 19th century.

The Saliera is the only work of gold which can be attributed to Cellini with certainty. It was created in the style of the late Renaissance and allegorically portrays "Terra e Mare" in Cellini's description in his "Autobiography", allegorised as Neptune, god of the sea, and Ceres, goddess of the earth, symbolizing their unity in producing salt mined from the earth.

The salt cellar consists of ivory, gold, and vitreous enamel. It stands about 26 cm tall. The base is about 33.5 cm wide.

Two years after finishing this work Cellini returned to Florence, to the patronage of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.

Theft and return

On May 11, 2003, the Saliera was stolen from the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which was covered by a scaffolding at that time due to reconstruction works. The museum had offered a reward of € 70,000 for its recovery. The Saliera was recovered on January 21, 2006 buried in a lead box in a forest near the town of Zwettl, Austria, about 90 km north of Vienna. The assumed thief, Robert Mang, [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/26/arts/design/26cell.html?_r=1 "For Stolen Saltcellar, a Cellphone Is Golden"] , by Richard Bernstein, New York Times, January 26, 2006] [ [http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/02/17/weekinreview/art-heist-slide-show_6.html Famous Art Heists - New York Times - slideshow] ] had turned himself in after police released surveillance photos of the suspect which were subsequently recognized by acquaintances. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4636668.stm BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Police find stolen £36m figurine ] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.khm.at/staticE/page842.html Saliera at the Kunsthistorisches Museum's site]


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