Salt

Description

This small glass object is one of four Winterthur collection salts made in the so-called Zwischengoldglas (German for "gold between glass") style. The origins of the technique—originally capturing gold and other decorating materials within heat-fused glass—dates back to ancient times. By the time Bohemian (modern Czeck Republic) and Austrian glassmakers began imitating such antiquities in the 1790s, the original process had been lost. Instead, the later glassmakers applied the ornamental design to a small glass pad and glued it onto the larger glass body. For other Zwischengoldglas salts at Winterthur, see 1970.0815 (displaying an eagle), 1970.0817.001 (with a floral motif), and 1970.0817.002 (portraying a different female bust portrait). This salt was a gift from Winterthur founder Henry Francis du Pont to the donor, in celebration of her debutante party in 1963. The donor’s grandmother saved the salt, among other gifts from that event, and gave it to the donor after the donor’s marriage.