Joseph Edwards, Jr.
Saltcellar (one of a pair)

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Saltcellar (one of a pair)
Datec. 1758–1783
Made inBoston, Massachusetts, United States
MediumSilver
Dimensions1 13/16 × 3 1/16 in. diameter (4.6 × 7.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by The Friends of Bayou Bend
Object numberB.80.4.2
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Metals Study Room
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Prior to the seventeenth century, salt was a precious commodity. The earliest surviving English salt dishes, dating from the late fifteenth century, were imposing objects securing a prominent position at the table. In colonial America the earliest examples were spool shaped, succeeded in about 1700 by the trencher salt, a simpler form that communicates the increasing availability of the commodity. By the mid-eighteenth century, small circular dishes supported by diminutive cast feet, such as this pair by Joseph Edwards, Jr., became popular.

Related examples: These salt dishes, characteristic of the period, are the only ones recorded from Joseph Edwards’s shop.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff.  American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


Provenance[William Core Duffy, New Haven, Connecticut]; purchased by MFAH, 1980.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Engraved on bottom: W*P
On bottom: mark of Joseph Edwards, Jr. [Buhler and Hood 1970, vol. I, p. 325, no. 272]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Saltcellar (one of a pair)
Joseph Edwards, Jr.
c. 1758–1783
Silver
B.80.4.1
Porringer
John Edwards
c. 1720–1746
Silver
B.69.101
Teacup and Saucer
James and Thomas Edwards
c. 1841–1842
Lead-glazed earthenware with transfer print
B.2013.17.1,.2
Untitled
Sam Edwards
no date
Silver dye bleach print
2002.3317
Barbara Bush
Ben Edwards
1992
Gelatin silver print
95.100
Eggs
Jon Edwards
2005, printed 2008
Gelatin silver print with selenium toning
2009.567
Pentimento
Jon Edwards
2004, printed 2007
Gelatin silver print with selenium toning
2009.568
Looking Back
Jon Edwards
2005, printed 2007
Gelatin silver print with selenium toning
2009.566
Praying to the Pie Gods
Jon Edwards
2006, printed 2008
Gelatin silver print with selenium toning
2009.565
Redemption
Melvin Edwards
1990
Welded steel
94.133
Good Word from Cayenne
Melvin Edwards
1990
Welded steel
94.134
Early Time
Melvin Edwards
1986
Welded steel
94.135