Artist Islamic, Indian
Title
  • Salt Cellar inscribed with Poem about Salt
Date between 1664 and 1665
Medium copper and tin
Dimensions Overall (including lid): 3 1/2 × 3 3/4 inches (8.9 × 9.5 cm)
Overall (lid): 3 × 3 3/4 × 3 3/4 inches (7.6 × 9.5 × 9.5 cm)
Credit Line City of Detroit Purchase
Accession Number 30.432
Department Islamic Art
On View Islamic N120, Level 1 (see map)
Inscriptions Inscribed, in Persian, translation by Shadi Shafiei (26 August 2021) [translation: A salt cellar as tight as an ant’s heart, [And yet] enough salt to bring passion into the world. I sucked its lip and immediately was beside myself, The euphoric wine that gives intoxication has salt [in it]. [The same way] the host would first bring a salt cellar to the table. Owned by the sinful slave Muhammad Hosein year 1075 (1664/1665 A.D).]
(Arthur Upham Pope);
1930-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)