Caddinet

Gottlieb Menzel

1718 · Silver gilt · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

The caddinet was reserved for the sovereign and his immediate family. The instructions for setting the table for a banquet at Dresden Palace on September 3, 1719, read: “On the table is [to be placed] in front . . . of the king and the . . . queen the so-called caddinet, . . . in which are salt, pepper, and other [spices] in diverse compartments.” The tray held the private royal cutlery and a specially folded napkin that covered bread rolls; hence the object’s name BrodtTeller (bread tray) in contemporary inventories. Augustus the Strong (1670–1733) must have seen this rare expression of royal etiquette in use at the court in Versailles, where he visited in 1687. The pagoda-shaped lids recall the roof line of the king’s summer palace, Pillnitz, near Dresden, introducing a touch of the exotic chinoiserie so fashionable at the time. This caddinet was part of a set of six.

Artist

Gottlieb Menzel

Date

1718

Medium

Silver gilt

Culture

German, Augsburg

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973