Basket
ca.1670 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Layette baskets held the clothes and linen of a new-born baby. Usually they were made of wicker, but in the grandest houses they could be of silver. This one, pierced and fashionably chased with flowers, has no hallmarks or maker's mark.
Large sculptural objects for display had always been an important feature of aristocratic and princely silver. But in Restoration England many commented with disapproval upon the extravagance of the latest fashion (imported from France) for massive silver furniture, chandeliers, wine cisterns and other heavy types of plate.
Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert began collecting in the 1960s and over a period of 40 years formed one of the world’s great private collections of decorative arts. The collection consists of over 800 objects from the fields of European gold and silver, Italian mosaics and hardstone, portrait enamels and gold boxes. Sir Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996 to be housed at Somerset House, London, having previously been displayed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2008 the collection was moved to dedicated galleries in the V&A, where a selection has been on permanent display ever since.
Large sculptural objects for display had always been an important feature of aristocratic and princely silver. But in Restoration England many commented with disapproval upon the extravagance of the latest fashion (imported from France) for massive silver furniture, chandeliers, wine cisterns and other heavy types of plate.
Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert began collecting in the 1960s and over a period of 40 years formed one of the world’s great private collections of decorative arts. The collection consists of over 800 objects from the fields of European gold and silver, Italian mosaics and hardstone, portrait enamels and gold boxes. Sir Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996 to be housed at Somerset House, London, having previously been displayed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2008 the collection was moved to dedicated galleries in the V&A, where a selection has been on permanent display ever since.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pierced and embossed silver |
| Brief description | Silver, England, ca.1670 |
| Physical description | A rectangular basket in form, the sides and foot both spread outwards from the bottom of the basket. The foot is pierced and embossed with acanthus leaves and auricular motifs; the sides are pierced and embossed with scrolling foliage and flowers. In the centre of the basket is a scene of a shepherd and shepherdess with a small flock of three goats in a landscape within an auricular scroll cartouche and a surround of flowers, all embossed. The border is embossed in a manner similar to the foot, with a band of applied ropework on its inner side. The handles are decorated with figures of hounds and other animals issuing from foliage. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | No marks |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | The source of the pastoral scene in the centre of this basket has not been identified, but the motif on the handles, a hound emerging from foliage, seems to have been adapted from frieze ornament in Stefano della Bella's 'Ornamenti di fregi et fogliami' (Paris, 1648 / 49) (Schroder, 1988, p. 114) Provenance: Sale, Christie's, lot 115, July 9, 1924. Sale, Christie's, lot 67, July 9, 1947. Acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1984. |
| Historical context | Dutch baskets of this form are generally asociated with a layette and were intended to contain the linen and other garments made for a newborn baby. Silver baskets are not recorded as being specifically used for this purpose in England... (Schroder, 1988, |
| Production | A number of large silver baskets, bearing English or Dutch marks, survive from the third quarter of the seventeenth century. Most Dutch examples, such as one of 1652 and another of 1660 conform to this shape, whilst most English baskets are oval. |
| Summary | Layette baskets held the clothes and linen of a new-born baby. Usually they were made of wicker, but in the grandest houses they could be of silver. This one, pierced and fashionably chased with flowers, has no hallmarks or maker's mark. Large sculptural objects for display had always been an important feature of aristocratic and princely silver. But in Restoration England many commented with disapproval upon the extravagance of the latest fashion (imported from France) for massive silver furniture, chandeliers, wine cisterns and other heavy types of plate. Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert began collecting in the 1960s and over a period of 40 years formed one of the world’s great private collections of decorative arts. The collection consists of over 800 objects from the fields of European gold and silver, Italian mosaics and hardstone, portrait enamels and gold boxes. Sir Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996 to be housed at Somerset House, London, having previously been displayed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2008 the collection was moved to dedicated galleries in the V&A, where a selection has been on permanent display ever since. |
| Bibliographic reference | Schroder, Timothy. The Gilbert collection of gold and silver. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1988, cat. no. 25, pp. 112-15. ISBN.0875871445 |
| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.619-2008 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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