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Un poco sobre El Museo

La nueva atracción en Guadalest es el fascinante Museo de Saleros y Pimenteros. Todos tenemos un par en casa, pero en los últimos 25 años, Andrea Ludden ha coleccionado más de 20.000 Saleros y Pimenteros, y ahora están expuestos en el nuevo Museo.

 

"Lo que admiro es la creatividad de los artesanos que han hecho todos estos recipientes sólo para sal y pimienta. Increíbles artistas han trabajado en las piezas, y son parte de la historia. Se puede hacer un estudio Antropológico con ellos, y trazar las décadas de los cuarenta, cincuenta, sesenta, y ver cómo las cosas y la gente han cambiado." dice Andrea Ludden, conservadora del Museo.

 

Es increíble de ver la cantidad de diferentes figuras que se han hecho en Saleros y Pimenteros, desde pájaros, gallinas, perros, gatos, toros, y otros animales, hasta astronautas y lavadoras. Algunos hablan, otros se mueven, aquellos están entrelazados, y éstos son magnéticos - la variedad los dejará asombrados. También hay una impresionante varedad de molinillos de pimienta, algunos midiendo hasta un metro de alto.

 

El Castell de Guadalest es famoso por su castillo, su lago, y sus otros ocho Museos. Este hermoso lugar está situado en un peñasco a 595m. de altitud, y provee un placentero paseo desde la Costa Blanca. Se encuentra a menos de 30 Km. de Benidorm, Altea, ó Calpe; y a unos 60 Km. de Alicante y 140 Km. de Valencia. Por todos sus atractivos, éste es el lugar ideal para mostrar la colección.

 

A little about the Museum

Why a Museum?

Well, that is a very good question! Let me tell you a little story, which will give you an idea as to why...

The collection began about 30 years ago when we did not have a pepper mill at home, that worked. So off we went on a quest to find the right one. At first we found one or two, then three or four, until it became an entertainment. Soon we found the world of shakers, where the shapes, themes and colors are endless (as you will see).

 

Now you might be asking who is this "we". Well, "we" consists of my husband Rolf, my daughter Andrea and my son Alex. My name is Andrea and I am an archaeologist who fell in love with the history found behind salt & pepper shakers.

 

In the late 1990's, my son gave me a digital camera for Christmas. Soon I began to take pictures of the salt & pepper shakers I had around the house and the many boxes underneath the house. I would take measurements and careful notes on each pair as part of cataloguing the collection. Once the last box was opened, my husband said, "Enough is enough. I won't carry one more box, you have to do something with them!"

 

So the seed was planted. What could we do with them?

 

By 2001 we had moved from Central Texas to the Smoky Mountains to open the only Museum of it's kind in the world! Presently we have over 20,000 pairs of shakers!

 

One of the main purposes of the museum is to show the changes in a society that can be found represented in shakers. As you walk through the museum you can see the changes from ancient times to the 1500's, 1800's, 1920's, 40's, 60's all the way to present time.

 

Another purpose of the museum is to show the variety and the creativity that can be found in salt and pepper shakers. Who where the people and the artist creative enough to come up with all these amazing different shapes?

 

The third purpose of the museum is to bring people together. We are all connected to salt & pepper shaker collectors, a grandparent (or other family members), a friend, a co-worker, or a neighbor. And everyone has a memory about a salt & pepper shaker, either from their childhood or later in life.

 

As you explore the collection you will see the salt & pepper shakers displayed by themes and colors. I have also created little stories (within the displays), which I have found that, those young of heart are able to see and enjoy. Each theme is separated by pepper mills, my husband's passion in this world of condiment tools. We currently have over 1500 pepper mills from all over the world. Rolf finds the mechanisms fascinating, from simple to complex.

 

After 30 years of collecting we are happy to share with fellow collectors and visitors the amazing world of Salt & Pepper Shakers! As I always like to say "Keep collecting!"

The story however keeps going. As of May 21st, 2010 we now have a second Museum open in Europe. It's located in El Castell de Guadalest outside of Benidorm, south of Valencia in the Province of Alicante Spain. The museum there has 20,000 shakers most of which are not in the USA museum. It only shows that no one could ever collect them all... the creativity is never ending!