Salt Stand c. 18th century

This elegant salt stand was made from blown glass, likely by an unknown artisan, somewhere in the past. The deep blue color is not the natural state of glass, which suggests the addition of metallic oxides to the silica during production. The artisan likely used a blowpipe to inflate a gather of molten glass, shaping it into the hourglass form with tooled precision. The lip around the top would have been carefully formed so that it could hold the salt. Considering the labor-intensive nature of glassblowing, even for a simple object like this, it speaks to a hierarchical society where such refinement was valued. The production of glass, dependent on skilled labor and trade, illustrates the complex relationship between craftsmanship, social class, and consumer culture. Looking at this object, we realize that even the smallest things can tell us about the culture that created them.