Salt
ca.1620 (made)
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These enamelled copper salts of about 1620 are skilfully painted in opaque and translucent enamels over foil on a black ground. Limoges enamels painted in a full range of colours were then enjoying a revival after several decades when grisaille enamels (those painted largely in shades of grey) were more in vogue. The shape of these salts was also up-to-date, following contemporary precious metal forms. The enameller Joseph Limosin (ca.1595-ca.1636) was a grandson of the celebrated Léonard Limosin (ca.1505-ca.1576), enameller to the courts of Kings François I and Henri II.
Myth and allegory were popular themes with the enamel workshops of Limoges. The Limosins were one of several families of enamellers who used Mannerist engravings by Etienne Delaune (1518-83) and others as sources for their designs. The salt painted with Roman gods and goddesses with their identifying emblems was inspired by elements from Delaune prints produced during the period 1556-76. The figures of Muses as Liberal Arts on the other salt are after a Delaune print series of 1569. Such subjects can be found in paintings of the late sixteenth century as well as being used to adorn all kinds of decorative art objects, especially furniture.
During the sixteenth century, members of the French royal family led the way in forming collections of Limoges enamels, sometimes decorating a whole room with them. Queen Catherine de’ Medici (1519-89) notably had a ‘cabinet des émaulx’ at her Paris palace, the Hôtel de la Reine. Royal and aristocratic patrons also commissioned services, often decorated with their coats-of-arms, to display on buffets or dressers. By the 1620s, salts were a regular production of enamelling workshops and a pair might be bought by nobles, by senior officers of state, or increasingly by aspiring members of the merchant class for display on furniture or in shelved cabinets alongside other luxury objects and curiosities from the natural world. By selecting salts with such subject-matter, the owner might hope to convey to guests his classical education and appreciation of the arts and sciences.
Myth and allegory were popular themes with the enamel workshops of Limoges. The Limosins were one of several families of enamellers who used Mannerist engravings by Etienne Delaune (1518-83) and others as sources for their designs. The salt painted with Roman gods and goddesses with their identifying emblems was inspired by elements from Delaune prints produced during the period 1556-76. The figures of Muses as Liberal Arts on the other salt are after a Delaune print series of 1569. Such subjects can be found in paintings of the late sixteenth century as well as being used to adorn all kinds of decorative art objects, especially furniture.
During the sixteenth century, members of the French royal family led the way in forming collections of Limoges enamels, sometimes decorating a whole room with them. Queen Catherine de’ Medici (1519-89) notably had a ‘cabinet des émaulx’ at her Paris palace, the Hôtel de la Reine. Royal and aristocratic patrons also commissioned services, often decorated with their coats-of-arms, to display on buffets or dressers. By the 1620s, salts were a regular production of enamelling workshops and a pair might be bought by nobles, by senior officers of state, or increasingly by aspiring members of the merchant class for display on furniture or in shelved cabinets alongside other luxury objects and curiosities from the natural world. By selecting salts with such subject-matter, the owner might hope to convey to guests his classical education and appreciation of the arts and sciences.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Enamel on copper, painted with enamel colours, some translucent over foil, and gilded |
| Brief description | Enamelled copper salt, painted with gods and goddesses, Joseph Limosin, Limoges, France, about 1620. One of a pair. |
| Physical description | Circular copper salt with flaring facetted stem, painted in opaque enamels and gilded and in translucent enamels over foil on a black ground. The footrim, top rim and rim of the well are defined in white enamel. In the well is painted a male head in profile wearing a blue helmet with white plume on a background of gilded dots. Between the two white rim lines is a band of gilded scrolling. On each facet of the stem is painted a Roman god or goddess with their identifying emblems: a helmeted Minerva with lance and shield, Diana with a spear in her left hand and the crescent moon in her right, Mars with a dagger and shield, Juno with a peacock, Mercury with a caduceus, and Venus with a flaming heart. They stand on blue semi-circular pedestals supported by leafy brackets (these derive from a Hans Burgkmair design, the 'Fons Musarum', according to Verdier, 1967), and beneath canopies alternating blue and purple against a background of gilded tendrils and between rods up which vines scramble. Below is a border of leafy scrolls and exotic birds. The interior of the salt is decorated with gilded fleur-de-lys and quatrefoils. The depictions of the gods and goddesses are after a variety of Mannerist engravings by Etienne Delaune (1518-83) produced during the two decades 1556-1576. Some small-scale prints where the figure appears in white on a dark ground show divinities under canopies as here, while a series of bigger oval prints of 1576 shows divinities representing planets over which each deity presides. Minerva, though, is derived from one of a series of 12 prints of 1569 on the theme of the Liberal Arts. The pedestals supported by brackets on which the figures stand derive from a Hans Burgkmair design (the Fons Musarum, see Verdier, 1967). The shape of this salt resembles a circular socle for a sculptural bust (known as a 'piedouche'). This form was created in metalwork from the end of the sixteenth century. |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | Bought 1893 for £518.3s.6d the pair from Durlacher Bros., 23a Old Bond Street. Formerly in the collection of George Field, Esq. (2nd day of sale, Christies, 13/06/1893, lot 171, sold to Durlacher Bros. for £493-10s). George Field had lent the salts on two occasions to the South Kensington Museum (now V&A), first for the Special Exhibition of Works of Art in June 1862 and then to the Special Loan Exhibition of Enamels on Metal in 1874. Polychrome enamels enjoyed a successful revival from the last quarter of the sixteenth century after several decades when grisaille enamels had been more fashionable. Mythological and allegorical themes were popular subjects with the workshops of Limoges. The Limosins were one of several families of enamellers who looked to the work of engravers such as Delaune for their design sources. Delaune's prints disseminated the style associated from 1530s with the decorations produced by Italian artists for the royal château of Fontainebleau. Joseph Limosin (ca.1595-ca.1636) was a son of the enameller François Limosin whose father was the celebrated Léonard Limosin (ca.1505-ca.1576), enameller to the courts of Kings François I and Henri II. Joseph's elder brother Jean (ca.1580-1646) also signed enamels "I.L."so there has been some confusion between their work. It is now thought that Jean may have distinguished his work by the use of a fleur-de-lys between his initials, as he was an enameller to the King, but it is not yet possible to be completely categorical as to whether this distinction is always the case. Joseph signed his name in full on a salt bearing depictions of allegorical figures (Louvre inv. no. MR2497), which is a helpful basis for comparing the style of other extant salts. |
| Summary | These enamelled copper salts of about 1620 are skilfully painted in opaque and translucent enamels over foil on a black ground. Limoges enamels painted in a full range of colours were then enjoying a revival after several decades when grisaille enamels (those painted largely in shades of grey) were more in vogue. The shape of these salts was also up-to-date, following contemporary precious metal forms. The enameller Joseph Limosin (ca.1595-ca.1636) was a grandson of the celebrated Léonard Limosin (ca.1505-ca.1576), enameller to the courts of Kings François I and Henri II. Myth and allegory were popular themes with the enamel workshops of Limoges. The Limosins were one of several families of enamellers who used Mannerist engravings by Etienne Delaune (1518-83) and others as sources for their designs. The salt painted with Roman gods and goddesses with their identifying emblems was inspired by elements from Delaune prints produced during the period 1556-76. The figures of Muses as Liberal Arts on the other salt are after a Delaune print series of 1569. Such subjects can be found in paintings of the late sixteenth century as well as being used to adorn all kinds of decorative art objects, especially furniture. During the sixteenth century, members of the French royal family led the way in forming collections of Limoges enamels, sometimes decorating a whole room with them. Queen Catherine de’ Medici (1519-89) notably had a ‘cabinet des émaulx’ at her Paris palace, the Hôtel de la Reine. Royal and aristocratic patrons also commissioned services, often decorated with their coats-of-arms, to display on buffets or dressers. By the 1620s, salts were a regular production of enamelling workshops and a pair might be bought by nobles, by senior officers of state, or increasingly by aspiring members of the merchant class for display on furniture or in shelved cabinets alongside other luxury objects and curiosities from the natural world. By selecting salts with such subject-matter, the owner might hope to convey to guests his classical education and appreciation of the arts and sciences. |
| Associated object | 647A-1893 (Pair) |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 647-1893 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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