Silver basket for sweetmeats

Basket with openwork sides imitating wicker weave was designed for candied fruit and pastries. The commemorative inscription G.F. d. Feber. 1818 is stamped on the bottom of the basket. It was made by Carl Ludwig Berendt, a goldsmith from Gdańsk, in c. 1780. There are two other known, similar baskets made by the same artist: one is in the collection of the Museum of Gdańsk; the second in the Oesterreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna. Goldsmiths from Gdańsk were known primarily for their representative, richly decorated wares, both ecclesiastical and secular, from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The basket on display is a utilitarian object, from the next century, the neo-classical era. Its simple form and modest decoration are distinguished by its meticulous finish. Made of high quality silver alloy, it features a simple form and skilfully executed simple decoration. [K.Mikucka-Stasiak]