A salt cellar is a small pot for holding salt at the table, traditionally with a hole or holes in the top so the salt can be sprinkled onto food. Before free-flowing table salt, cellars were open dishes with a tiny spoon, and fine examples in silver were status symbols on grand tables. The perforated-top design keeps salt dry and dispenses it evenly, though in humid climates the holes clog, which is why rice grains are sometimes added to shakers as a desiccant. The salt cellar sits at the heart of table ritual: passed with the pepper, pinched by cooks for seasoning, and knocked over to folk warnings about spilt salt. It is a small vessel with a long cultural history.