Welcome to my salt cellar reveal! You'll never guess what type of new-to-me salt cellars I found.

Yes, they're actually in the shape of elegant swans! 

I couldn't believe my thrifting luck, having come across two vintage Birks frosted glass swan-shaped salt cellars (and a surprise blue and white addition to the collection as well).  

When it comes to collections of vintage wares I have one collection that is especially near and dear to my heart -- my salt cellar collection. Salt cellars are relatively inexpensive to collect and don't take up a lot of room.

In other words, perfect for those of us who don't want to spend a fortune and don't have a ton of space for our collections. I also happen to be a salt lover so that helps!

Plus, they're just a fun item to be on the lookout for when thrifting -- you never know what you're going to find!

I previously shared my vintage salt cellar collection, as well as a brief history of salt cellars, in Vintage Salt Cellar Collection Reveal. I urge you to check out that blog post to get a glimpse into my complete salt cellar collection and some background on salt cellars in general if you're not familiar with their history and usage.    

It's been a hot minute since I've come across salt cellars in my thrifting jaunts that made me stop and take notice. But that's exactly what happened during a thrifting trip with my daughter over the Thanksgiving holiday (as well as a New Year's mountain retreat with my husband - more on that later.)

I still had a bit of gift certificate money left over from last Christmas, which I gladly donated to the cause. The store even gift wrapped the pair for me! (Or, more precisely, for my husband who would be "gifting" them to me for Christmas!)  

I knew nothing about them except for the fact that I loved them and that they were vintage and very unique. As an avid swan collector I never thought I'd come across actual swan salt cellars! 

The glass is a nice, heavy, frosted glass. And the wings move! That's what really caught my eye about these.

The imprint on the inside of the wing says Birks EP (electroplated) Zinc (aka silverplate) Japan.

One of them still has the Made in Japan sticker on the bottom.

The finish is obviously tarnished and I'm looking for a way to restore it. But even if I can't, that's okay because I love the vintage patina of these swan salt cellars. 

I've seen some sterling silver ones selling online for $400.00, so I'm guessing mine are like costume jewelry, as opposed to the real deal! Mine are being resold somewhere in the $50.00 range for the set. (I paid considerably less.)

 Yet I still think they look gorgeous as part of this tablescape. 

The porcelain tea cup in the background is part of my Yuan china collection. I thought the swans went well with the birds in that pattern

While they didn't come with their original salt spoons, I pulled out a few silver spoons from my stash of salt cellars to use. Finding individual spoons for sale is a bit rare (they're also usually more expensive that way, as opposed to being sold with an actual salt cellar). I'll be on the lookout nonetheless.

A short time later while antiquing with my husband over the New Year's holiday I found this Asian-inspired blue and white porcelain salt cellar. It only cost me $2.95. It has some sort of stamp on the bottom but unfortunately I can't decipher it. 

The antique emporium where I found it was absolutely the biggest of its kind I've ever seen. Some day I'll write a post just about the place  -- it was that amazing.

After I brought that one home I realized that I already had three small blue and white porcelain bowls that I thrifted from Goodwill a few years ago and that THEY could be used as salt cellars, too! (I originally envisioned using them as pinch cups or individual condiment bowls which they can still be used for.) 

So of course I added them to the tablescape as well. 

Finding the two swan salt cellars (and a blue and white one for only $2.95) made me absolutely giddy. Small things can create a big impact -- like bringing joy -- and these finds are proof of that!

And so the hunt continues.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about 

Swan Salt Cellars: Vintage Salt Cellar 

Collection Update