Shabby Chic Antique Victorian Pairpoint Silverplate Bride’s Basket/ Cake Basket

Description

Pairpoint Silverplate bride’s Basket/ cake basket. Ornately decorated arched handle. The plate has a delicately embossed heart shaped leaf floral. The 3/4” rim depicts a wondering, flowering vine.
Standing 4 3/4” tall, with the plate diameter being 8 5/8”
With the handle up, this shabby chic antique treasure measures 11.5" tall!
Lots of wear to the silver plate, showing darker and lighter areas, and the basket is a bit crooked. There are a few light gouges in the rim. Please review the pictures before purchase. There are no returns. US shipping only.
HISTORY:
By the mid 1800s, wealthy brides used silver baskets during their wedding ceremony, and it was also customary to place the basket on the main table during the reception luncheon or dinner to showcase the bridal bouquet. Once the bride and groom, now a Mr. and Mrs., returned from their honeymoon, the happy couple used their basket to present cake, sweets, or fruit while entertaining and prominently displayed it as a centerpiece on their sideboard for elaborate dinners for friends and family.
It wasn’t until the last quarter of the 19th century, however, that the bride’s baskets we collect and admire today were made. Silver companies began to produce more and more affordable pieces in quadruple plate (silver plate) so that they would appeal to a larger market. Instead of being sold “by appointment” in exquisite jewelry shops only, silver and semi-luxury gifts were being sold in dry goods retail emporiums such as Macy’s in New York and Le Bon Marché in Paris.