A pepper pot is a small lidded container with a pierced top, used to sprinkle ground pepper at the table. It is closely related to the larger caster, used for sugar or spices, and is often found as part of a cruet set alongside salt cellars and mustard pots.
Silver pepper casters appear in England in the late seventeenth century, usually of cylindrical or baluster form with a pierced, domed cover held by a bayonet fitting. Through the Georgian period they followed changing taste, from plain Queen Anne shapes to neoclassical vase forms and Regency designs, and the Victorians made pepper pots in an enormous variety of novelty shapes, including owls, birds and figures. They were also produced in Sheffield plate, electroplate, pewter, porcelain and glass. When buying silver examples, check that the body and cover carry matching marks, that the piercing is undamaged and that the base has not been worn thin or repaired. Pepper pots are popular with collectors because they are small, practical and available across a wide range of prices, from modest Victorian pieces to rare early Georgian casters.
