SALIERA

For more than 150 years, the longstanding silver manufactory of Jarosinski & Vaugoin has been producing high-quality silver objects. At the beginning of the 20th century, the manufactory—founded in 1847 by Carl Vaugoin, who specialized in heavy, handmade cutlery—relocated to Zieglergasse in Vienna’s 7th district, just a few minutes’ walk from Feichtner’s current studio. Today, Jean-Paul Vaugoin represents the sixth generation of his family to continue the tradition of this renowned business. For their collaboration, Feichtner took inspiration from Jarosinski & Vaugoin’s history: during the late 1960s, the silver manufactory produced several replicas of the legendary Saliera by Benvenuto Cellini, of which one was presented by the Republic of Austria to Queen Elizabeth II as an official gift on the occasion of her state visit in 1969. The manufactory’s current collaboration with Feichtner has given rise to a series of silver spice containers that are gold-plated on the inside. The salt cellar can be tilted to remove salt through an opening with two fingers in order to sprinkle it. In this way, Feichtner gets the salt cellar’s users to playfully but consciously approach the concept underlying an object that sees little use today, rather than just to casually shake on salt. “I didn’t want to design a second Saliera—instead, I wanted to come up with a new take on its approach to salt,” says Thomas Feichtner of his design.