Small crystal something???

[Quinborne]

This is a cut glass salt not pressed glass . In fact it is a good quality small cut glass item and could be English or Irish. If l have to date it will be 1890-1920.

[ghopper1924]

Right, cut as I suspected.

[wendy177]

Yes cut glass I also would say around 1910 but I think French.

[KC]

These little pieces of the past have a few different names:  Open salts (still used by chefs/kitchens today), salt cellars, salt dish, salties and salt dips.  They were used on elaborate and elegant settings when lots on the table setting was considered "in".  They have been made open or closed.  Plain or elaborate.  (Some of my favorites:  Viking ships, hens, etc.)  

But realize that there are still places that make them because of their popularity.  Interesting enough, there are places making the pressed glass ones using the original old molds....so they aren't considered reproductions...but most reputable firms will mark them a little differently to differentiate the timeline.  PotteryBarn is starting to produce some in novel forms, etc.

The collecting of these pieces of history are so popular that there is now a convention, there are collectors clubs, etc.

This one site is remarkable!  They have a section devoted to salt cellars by Makers even!  :
INFORMATION ON PRESSED GLASS OPEN SALTS OF THE  PAST 75 YEARS
http://opensalts.net/about_us.html

[ghopper1924]

Cool. Glad to see people appreciating an interesting aspect of the past, however obscure.

[bigwull]

Ok now this is what I am talking about  LOL  So I thought about ring or trinkets then Wendy said covered salt and I had no clue what that was so I started googling.  I had never heard of a salt dish or salt cellar but apparently that is what it is.  Here is a link to a listing on ebay which has the same one in it.   Not a great pic but it is one of the ones in the back row.  This says open salt cellars.  Still trying to figure that out - people would dip the food into the dish of salt?  Would this have been like mid-century?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Cut-Crystal-and-Pressed-Glass-Lot-of-Six-Open-Salts-Salt-Cellars-/140816872192?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20c956f300

Ok well apparently not much worth but cool to know.  This is cut crystal correct? 

they did,nt dip the food into the salt..they dipped there fingers.to take a pinch