Even though mankind has only been able to identify a fraction of our planet’s sea dwellers, this diversity of species already offers a plethora of riches. The US designer Ted Muehling used this richness as his inspiration when creating an entire collection of shells, vases and lanterns in the form of sea life. Part of the collection is this small, snail-shaped salt cellar. Its circles of unglazed biscuit porcelain end in an opening that is softly glazed in a shell pink.

Adding salt and pepper alone has lost its charm. These days, a gourmet chef will look as far as sea salts enriched with lavender and hibiscus blossoms. So what could be more appropriate than serving these in matching receptacles? In the Maritime Collection of the US designer Ted Muehling, this small, porcelain sea snail can be found among shells, vases and lanterns. The pretty circles, made from fine biscuit porcelain, form a small dish, glazed in celadon.

Whether fleur de sel, rock salt or Himalayan salt: this trusty meal companion comes in all shapes and sizes, which is why Ted Muehling’s porcelain snail receptacles are ideal for portioning out the precious crystals at the table. You can tell your favourites apart by reading the spirals circling either left or right. And those who find oversized pepper mill towers distracting during dinner can instead use these seven centimetre tall biscuit snails for their freshly ground pepper.

Fleur de sel is the queen of salts. In the salt gardens around the Mediterranean, its residue is found when sea water evaporates in the sun and the wind forms the vapour into crystals. In the early hours of the morning, the salt master begins his harvest. It must be swift, so that the crystals can retain their shape and ultimately find their way into this small salt cellar designed by Ted Muehling. The seven centimetre snail is part of the Maritime Collection, which the renowned US designer created for Nymphenburg in 2000.

Design can also mean interpreting established methods in a new context. During a tour of the manufactory, Konstantin Grcic discovered a series of insulators for electricity poles in the technical design department. Its shapes offered inspiration to the renowned Munich-born designer when creating his series of modern pepper, salt and sugar shakers in 1999. The disciplined, hand-painted line emphasises the silhouette of the eight centimetre tall pepper shaker.

To this day, the listed gardens of the manufactory are home to a telegraph pole with insulator cups made from Nymphenburg porcelain. The renowned Munich designer Konstantin Grcic used them as his inspiration when translating the shape of the insulators into a series of salt, pepper and sugar shakers of various sizes. One of the protagonists is this nine centimetre tall salt shaker with hand-painted contour.

“Innovation occurs when something special is put in an unusual light,” believes Konstantin Grcic. Using this as his inspiration, the Munich-born industrial designer created a series of salt and sugar shakers for the manufactory in 1999, in the shape of the historical insulators. The standout piece of the ensemble is this twelve centimetre tall sugar shaker. As with its brothers and sisters in the series, a fine hand-painted line in tender pink emphasises the unusual contour of this table piece.