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Elephant with Salt Cellar

Elephant with Salt Cellar is a mountain crystal elephant, originally made in India in the 15th century. The animal lies stretched out, as if resting under a heavy burden. It was first created without the basket-like fitting that later served as a salt cellar. In about 1550, the Lisbon jeweler Francisco Lopez added this mount for Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal, who owned the piece. She later gave it to her daughter-in-law Juana. How it eventually reached Vienna is unknown, though it was probably acquired for Emperor Rudolf II’s collection in Prague. The object is now preserved in the Kunstkammer of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, inventory number KK 2320.

Crystal elephant with gold accents carrying a clear salt cellar on its back.
Elephant with Salt Cellar, a clear crystal sculpture with gold detailing and a vessel on its back.
June 2016 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Crystal elephant with gold-colored details carrying a faceted crystal salt cellar on its back.
Elephant with Salt Cellar, a carved crystal sculpture with gold-colored metal details and a faceted cup on its back.
June 2016 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rock crystal elephant with gold-colored tusks, ears, and feet carrying a faceted salt vessel.
Elephant with Salt Cellar, a rock crystal elephant carrying a salt vessel.
February 2025 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Crystal elephant sculpture with gold details and a ribbed salt cellar mounted on its back
Elephant with Salt Cellar, showing a crystal-like elephant with gilded accents and a vessel mounted on its back.
© · CC0
Elephant with Salt Cellar featuring a clear elephant figure with gold details and a ribbed glass bowl on its back.
Elephant with Salt Cellar, showing a clear elephant figure topped with a ribbed glass salt cellar.
© · CC0

Identification

TitleElephant with salt cellar
TypeComposite Kunstkammer object: an elephant sculpture with a salt cellar on its back
Original language titleСлон із сільничкою; also given as "Слон с солонкой" and Elefant mit Salzfass

Historical context

Date of manufacture15th century
OriginMade in India; possibly the elephant figure itself was from Southeast Asia

Creator

Maker / mounting jewelerFrancisco Lopez, goldsmith
Date of mounting / assemblyaround 1550

Discovery and provenance

First recorded mentionIn the 1750 inventory of the Vienna Treasury
Trade contextCrystal objects with gemstone settings were especially traded in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon)
Archive sourcePatent letter of 30 September 1550 in the National Archive, Lisbon
Commissioning and purchaseThe object was bought in 1550 from Francisco Lopez's workshop in Lisbon and probably mounted by him there
Possible later acquisitionProbably acquired by Emperor Rudolf II for his Kunstkammer in Prague
Later provenanceIt later remained in Habsburg possession; how it came to Vienna and its transport, storage, and use are not reconstructed
Earlier owner / recipientCatherine of Castile gave it to her daughter-in-law Joanna of Spain (also described as Joanna, her niece) in 1553 for her wedding
Uncertain earlier functionIt is unclear whether the back structure may originally have held a noble rider instead of the salt cellar
Patron / ownerCatherine of Castile, Queen of Portugal (also described as Catherine of Austria)
Alternative origin hypothesisAnother interpretation holds that the crystal elephant may originally have been a perfume flask from Islamic cultural circles, possibly brought from the Sultanate of Deccan to Lisbon

Physical characteristics

Iconography / interpretationThe elephant is shown as a cultivated, service-bearing pack animal; the motif was associated with royal power and dignity in India
DescriptionA recumbent elephant stretched out as if resting under a heavy burden; head slightly turned left, all four legs extended

Materials

Salt cellar materialRock crystal
Salt cellar date14th century, earlier than the elephant figure
Additional materialsGold tusks, gilded feet, ears, and tail, enameled gold necklace, gold saddle and lip, silver fittings, hyacinths (zircon crystals) in the eye sockets, green and pink enamel on the lid and earlier salt cellar
Main materialRock crystal

Technique

Manufacture and assemblyAssembled from two treasure objects of different origins; the elephant was made without the basket-like attachment, which was added later as a salt cellar
Salt cellar techniqueHighly technically accomplished faceted cutting

Appearance

Structural featuresA polygonal salt cellar with a gold lip appears to sit on a gold saddle held by a strap; the lid is lost
DetailThe lid was reportedly shaped as a rose blossom with green and pink enamel

Location and ownership

Current locationKunstkammer, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Inventory numberKK 2320

History and restoration

Historical contextCatherine of Castile collected exotic luxury objects from Asia, which were accessible to her after Portuguese expansion in India; the object reflects Lisbon's role as a major transshipment center during the Portuguese expansion under João III and Catherine of Castile

Significance

SignificanceOne of the oldest holdings in the Habsburg imperial collections; a unique testimony to early modern cultural transfer across continents and to the interplay of the foreign and the familiar