• Vintage Arnart Blue Onion oversized salt shaker with gothic Salt lettering and fruit finial
  • Reverse of an Arnart Blue Onion salt shaker showing white glaze and cobalt blue banding
  • Top view of an Arnart Blue Onion salt shaker lid with pierced holes and modelled fruit finial
  • Base of an Arnart Blue Onion salt shaker with cork stopper and unglazed foot rim
  • Close-up of the Arnart Japan underglaze blue mark inside the Blue Onion salt shaker base
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Arnart Imports

Arnart Oversized Salt Shaker | Blue Onion

Arnart Oversized Salt Shaker | Blue Onion

R 650.00 ZAR
R 650.00 ZAR
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A generously scaled salt shaker in Arnart’s Blue Onion — Japan’s mid-century answer to Meissen’s eighteenth-century Zwiebelmuster. The double-gourd body sits on a small footed base, the waist lettered Salt in black gothic script, the pierced lid finished with a little modelled fruit finial.

Arnart Imports of Fifth Avenue, New York, commissioned these kitchen pieces in Japan in the 1950s and 1960s. A quiet, useful piece of decor: handsome on its own, or as the salt in a blue-and-white kitchen collection.

Dimensions

- Height: 13.8 cm
- Diameter: 7 cm

Condition

- Very Good - The shaker is structurally sound, with the expected age of mid-century Japanese export ware.
- Body & glaze: crazing here and there, typical of this paste and glaze
- Decoration: cobalt transfer remains clear; gothic Salt lettering is crisp
- Lid & finial: pierced lid and modelled fruit finial appear intact
- Base: cork stopper present; unglazed foot rim shows age staining; underglaze blue Arnart / Japan mark to the interior of the base
- No chips, cracks or restoration visible

Additional Information

1. Design & Features
- Double-gourd form with a narrow lettered waist, blue banding, pierced shaker lid and applied fruit finial.
- Bottom-fill with cork stopper.

2. Craftsmanship
- Japanese porcelain with underglaze cobalt transfer and hand-finished details, made for the New York importer Arnart.

3. About the Maker
- Arnart Imports / Arnart Creations (1953–2001) was a Fifth Avenue importer, not a factory.
- Kitchenware in Blue Onion and related patterns was produced in Japan and often marked with crossed arrows echoing Meissen, together with “Blue Onion” and “Japan.”

4. Uses & Versatility
- Use as a salt shaker, or simply as a small sculptural piece on a dresser or open kitchen shelf.

5. Care Instructions
- Hand wash only.
- Avoid soaking the cork and sudden temperature changes.
- Not recommended for the dishwasher or microwave.
- Crazing is historic and stable; dry thoroughly after washing.

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