saltcellar, receptacle for table salt, usually made of metal or glass. Salt was taken from it with small spoons. From the Middle Ages until at least the 16th century, salt was a relatively expensive commodity and was kept at the table in vessels commensurate with this status. A large and elaborate standing saltcellar, frequently made of silver, was the centrepiece of the medieval and Renaissance table. Medieval inventories record fantastic saltcellars incorporating figures of human beings and animals, some late examples of which survive. The most famous saltcellar in the world is of this figural type; it is a gold and enamel piece that was made by Benvenuto Cellini (q.v.) and is the supreme example of goldsmith work in the Renaissance. The earliest existing standard type of saltcellar consists of late 15th-century spool-shaped hourglass salts. These were superseded in the 16th century by pedestal- or drum-shaped saltcellars, such as the Vyvyan Salt (Victoria and Albert Museum, London).
As salt became cheaper, saltcellars became more functional in design. The small English bell saltcellars of the late 16th century reflect a trend toward smaller saltcellars that, by the late 17th century, had produced a low, bun-shaped or polygonal trencher saltcellar for individual use. Eighteenth-century saltcellars were bowl-shaped and set on legs; late in the century they were pierced and supplied with blue glass liners. Saltcellars were eventually replaced by the modern salt shaker.