Two Chelsea porcelain shell-form salts, England, 18th C.

L.: 10,5 cm - H.: 5,5 cm (the largest)

Condition: (UV-checked)
- The one with the crab with restoration to the crabs' eight legs, the exact extent of the repair hard to determine. A rim chip filled and retouched just above the red coral branch. Two touch-ups to the coral branch. A small superficial rim chip on the adjacent side. Two tension lines on the base.
- The one with the large dolphin with a ca. 5 cm hairline. A rim chip filled and retouched. A chip retouched just below the dolphin's cheek. Another to the far end of the tail and to the branch just next to it. A tension line on the base.

Provenance: A Belgian private collection.

Ref.:
- Sotheby's, New York, Nov. 11, 2006, lot 716, for another set. (sold USD 11.400) (link)
- The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Number C.73-1938, for a similar example. (link)
The catalogue entry notes: Nicholas Sprimont (1716-1771) made crayfish salts in silver before he founded the Chelsea porcelain factory. He made some in 1742-1743 for a marine-themed table setting commissioned by Frederick, Prince of Wales. Sprimont repeated the design at the Chelsea factory around 1745 and continued to make them in the 1750s: he included six pairs in a London auction of Chelsea porcelain held in 1756.