[0.800 SILVER] - Venice - 18th/19th century - Neoclassical Salt Shaker (Stand) - Tableware

Venetian workshop, ca. 1790–1810
Material: silver
Technique: profiling, openwork cutting, casting, soldering
Dimensions: height 46 mm; 78 × 61 mm
Weight: 86.5 g
An original silver mount for a table salt shaker, made in a Venetian workshop at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. It was intended to hold a matching glass insert, which has not survived to the present day.
The oval-shaped frame consists of two profiled rings connected by a wide, openwork gallery. The gallery is decorated with a rhythmic sequence of alternately arranged elongated ovals and rhomboidal openings, complemented by small geometric cutouts. A convex ornament of a twisted cord runs along the upper edge. The entire piece rests on curved, volute-shaped legs with flared ends.
The restrained, orderly composition and the geometric character of the decoration reflect the style of mature Classicism, popular in northern Italian goldsmithing in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The openwork design allowed the decorative glass insert to be displayed while protecting it and raising it above the table surface.
On the underside, a set of three partially worn goldsmith’s and assay marks, associated with the Venetian goldsmithing center, has been stamped.
Condition: as shown in the photos.