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Crayfish Salt: EC.23-1941

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An image of Salt
An image of Salt
Current Location: Gallery 26 (Lower Marlay)

Titles

Crayfish Salt

Maker(s)

Factory: Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory

Entities

Categories

Description

Soft-paste porcelain Crayfish Salt, moulded, and painted naturalistically in enamels

Soft-paste porcelain Crayfish Salt, moulded and painted in red, yellow, green, brown and black enamels. The salt is formed of a deep open, oval shell, resting on a rocky mound base modelled with seaweed, and applied with crustacea, a large naturalistic crayfish flanking the shell. The whole is painted in naturalistic colours.

Notes

History note: Dr Bellamy Gardner collection; sold Sotheby’s, 12 June 1941, Catalogue of the Celebrated Collection of Chelsea Porcelain, English Ceramics and Enamels, the property of Dr and Mrs Bellamy Gardner, lot 4

Legal notes

Given by the National Art Collections Fund as Trustee of the R S Cochrane Fund

Measurements and weight

Height: 7 cm
Height: 2 3/4 in
Width: 11.5 cm
Width: 4 1/2 in

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1941-06-12) by National Art Collections Fund

Dating

18th Century, Mid
George II
Red anchor period (1752-1756)
Circa 1752 - 1755

Note

The form of this salt is similar to a pair of silver-gilt crayfish salts in the Royal Collection which were made by Nicholas Sprimont and bear date letters for 1742-3. These were probably inspired by a design by the French architect and Dessinateur du Roy, Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695-1750), which was reproduced in a large set of prints after Meissonnier titled 'Livre de Legumes', published by Jacques Chéreau (fol. 72, pl. 15, after 1534).

School or Style

Rococo

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamels ( red, yellow, green, brown and black)

Materials used in production

presumed lead-glaze Lead-glaze
Soft-paste porcelain

Techniques used in production

Moulding : Soft-paste porcelain, moulded and painted overglaze in red, yellow, green, brown, and black enamels
Glazing (coating)

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: a red anchor

  • Text: an anchor
  • Location: Base
  • Method of creation: Painted in red
  • Type: Factory mark

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: EC.23-1941
Primary reference Number: 131181

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 29 April 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Crayfish Salt" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/131181 Accessed: 2025-12-05 20:35:03

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/131181 |title=Crayfish Salt |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 20:35:03|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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