Bovenstuk van een zoutvat van tin c. 1590 - 1596

This is the top of a small tin salt cellar, made by an anonymous maker. In previous centuries, salt was not as cheap or readily available as it is today. It was a valuable commodity that was worth protecting. Storing salt in a special container showed wealth and status, and salt cellars were often ornate objects displayed prominently on the table. This particular salt cellar has a simple design, suggesting it belonged to a middle-class household. Salt cellars were common in middle-class homes in the Netherlands, as the Dutch had a large merchant fleet and access to global trade networks through the Dutch East India Company. As historians, we can look at objects like this salt cellar to understand the social and economic context of the time. By studying trade routes, household inventories, and other historical records, we can learn more about the everyday lives of people in the past and the significance of even the simplest objects in their homes.