Triumphal arch

A nymph as a lid handle

Oddly, the pepper holder is described by Cellini as a temple. In fact it is a triumphal arch, a structure one can describe as representational architecture for victorious rulers. And it is intended for no one less than Francis I, the commissioner of the Saliera. Though small, the arch has monumental character and Cellini shows himself to be a sculptor with a knowledge of the rules of classical architecture.

The handle on the lid of the pepper cellar is an enigmatic, androgynous prostrate figure - a nymph, the guardian and spring goddess of Fontainebleau. Live-giving attributes such as fruit and flowers surround the nymph, who is lying on her watery blue cloak. In this way Cellini succeeds in transforming the small surface of the attic, the main entablature of the triumphal arch, into an earthly paradise.

Francis I conducts several wars against the Hapsburgs with varying levels of success and has innumerable, magnificent buildings erected. He has works by Italian artists such as Titian, Michelangelo and Raphael bought up and thus provides the basis for the royal collection which can be seen in the Louvre today.

All of this costs an unbelievable amount of money and so he doubles the farmers’ tax and, ironically, trebles the ‘gabelle’ or salt tax. Since the refrigerator has not yet been invented and salt is the only way to preserve food, you can easily image the consequences.