Benvenuto Cellini made this gold table piece for King Francis I of France, reworking a model first made for Cardinal Ippolito d'Este. Neptune, for the sea, and a female figure of Earth sit facing each other, legs interlaced, on an ebony base. It is the only surviving gold work securely by Cellini, and was stolen from the museum in 2003 and recovered in 2006.
Look closer
Salt went in the little boat beside Neptune and pepper in the tiny temple beside Earth. Reclining figures of the winds and the times of day ride on the base.
Looks like this
Compared by a vision model
