Cellini and his salt cellar

December 1, 2005 12:56 PM

Benvenuto Cellini—sculptor, untrustworthy autobiographer, convicted sodomite—was in the news recently when one of his works, "the Mona Lisa of Sculpture," made the FBI's Top Ten Art Heists list. His Saliera, or salt cellar, which he designed for Francis I while in residence at Fontainebleau, is valued at US$55 million. It was stolen in May 2003; people purporting to be the thieves demanded £3.5 million in ransom in August 2003. It's still missing. (The piece is so fragile that it's likely that it won't survive its latest adventure.) More about Cellini at Wikipedia.
posted by goatdog (18 comments total)

Such research, goatdog! Nice work. I hope to find time to read the Cellini autobiogrphy. I feel like such a peasant with my salt shakers.
posted by Cranberry at 1:35 PM on December 1, 2005

Cellini's Artcyclopedia page.

(*wonders how much cocaine a salt cellar would hold... and whose desk it might be sitting on.)
posted by R. Mutt at 1:37 PM on December 1, 2005

Allow me to put in a plug for Berlioz's wonderful opera Benvenuto Cellini.
posted by languagehat at 1:45 PM on December 1, 2005

To be honest, that's kind of ugly.
posted by delmoi at 1:45 PM on December 1, 2005

Also star of the puppet show The Death of Benvenuto Cellini by the Green Fools
posted by redbeard at 1:49 PM on December 1, 2005

And watch Fredric March in The Affairs of Cellini.
posted by goatdog at 1:52 PM on December 1, 2005

Mentioned in the wonderful book, Salt, prior to the theft. I'm using the original newspaper report as a bookmark.

(just checking...)
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:53 PM on December 1, 2005

Mannerism: To be honest, that's kind of ugly.
posted by R. Mutt at 1:53 PM on December 1, 2005

I find the theft of artwork itself fascinating. Not that I'm defending it, but what is the black market for these items like? Are there just these enormously rich art lovers out there who want to stare at this so bad that they would resort to thievery, only to be able to stare at it in the privacy of their bathroom for fear of discovery?

Or could you trade these for tons of cocaine or something? Am I missing a point somewhere? Maybe R.Mutt is right and the thief just wants a unique (but ugly) cocaine storage unit.

They can't be stealing it to show off to their rich friends, because I'd imagine someone would, you know, tell on them eventually. And besides, if someone liked art THAT MUCH, wouldn't they see the value in leaving it in the museum for the world to appreciate? I understand maybe siezing art for destruction, ie like book burning (totally stupid, but I understand that motive), but to steal just to have? I don't get it.

*goes off to watch the Thomas Crown Affair*
posted by like_neon at 3:45 PM on December 1, 2005

They can't be stealing it to show off to their rich friends, because I'd imagine someone would, you know, tell on them eventually.

Unless all your rich friends are murderers, and you have secured the evidence.
posted by StickyCarpet at 3:54 PM on December 1, 2005

You have a point. Art stealers probably do not hang out with the most forthright company.

What if it's some bizarre one-upmanship scenario?

"Hey lookit this, Eddie, I yoinked a gen-u-wine Van Gough."
"Thas nuthin, man. Checkit. Cellini's salt cellar."
"Yo, to be honest dawg, that's kinda ugly."
posted by like_neon at 4:06 PM on December 1, 2005

Cellini's Autobiography is on my short-list. First came across it while reading Huckelberry Finn--Cellini's autobiography was a favorite of Mark Twains and he incorporated some Cellini's famous escape techniques in Jim's satirical escape at the end of the book. I then ran across it again while reading Balzac's Le pere Goriot; Cellini was a household name for most of the 19th century.
posted by stbalbach at 4:26 PM on December 1, 2005

Informative post, I must have missed the salt cellar getting nicked. It is a legendary piece.
I'll ask around.
posted by Joeforking at 4:33 PM on December 1, 2005

Heh. When I saw Cellini, the only thing I could think of was the salt cellar from Art History. Lo, that's what we're talkin' 'bout.

Gaudy but gorgeous.
posted by klangklangston at 8:59 PM on December 1, 2005

Am I the only person here to have taken part in a performance of the complete opera 'Benvenuto Cellini' by Berlioz (as plugged by languagehat)? I thought so...
posted by altolinguistic at 4:27 AM on December 2, 2005

Am I the only person here to have taken part in a performance of the complete opera 'Benvenuto Cellini' by Berlioz (as plugged by languagehat)? I thought so...

.... so, does this opera have casrati?
posted by R. Mutt at 7:06 PM on December 3, 2005

not in my experience ;)
posted by altolinguistic at 10:22 AM on December 5, 2005

His autobiography was one of my favourite books as a child. Not that I admired him much even then, but he was a man of his time. And if there was someone to offend, Mr. Cellini usually managed to do so.

"Now I know what the word of a Pope is worth"

~Matt
posted by mdoar at 11:20 AM on December 5, 2005