Galvanoplastische reproductie van een driehoekig zoutvat op drie bolpoten before 1878

Elkington & Co. made this triangular salt cellar using a process called galvanoplasty. This was a way of using electrochemistry to deposit a thin layer of gold onto a base metal. In this process, an electric current is used to reduce dissolved metal cations so that they form a coherent metal coating on an electrode. The original item, in base metal, is essentially dipped in liquid and then “plated” with gold. This could achieve a convincing effect, though with far less use of precious material, which made luxury goods accessible to a wider market. In the Victorian era, firms like Elkington industrialized such processes on a large scale. The finished object cleverly evokes the workmanship of a goldsmith, even though it relied on a completely different, and rather more modern, set of skills. It serves as a reminder that even seemingly traditional objects can be deeply entangled with innovation, labor, and the dynamics of the market.