Antique Aesthetic Movement Silver Plate Catchall Stand

This silverplate basket frame carries a story you can read right off the bottom, marked Barbour Bros Co and cast in the naturalistic, asymmetrical style the Aesthetic Movement loved. Wild rose blossoms climb a pierced panel behind a tall swing handle, and three scrolled legs end in trailing grape clusters. The glass bowl it once cradled is long gone, but the frame itself is a study in 1880s American silverwork.

[d]Dimensions | 13 in. H x 5.75 in. W x 8 in. D

[d]Surface | Original surface, unpolished, with overall tarnish and plate loss to the well of the dish

[d]Primary Material | Silverplate, quadruple plate, over a base metal

[d]Period | Antique

[d]Date | Circa 1880s to early 1890s

[d]Origin | United States, Hartford, Connecticut

[d]Style or Movement | Aesthetic Movement

[d]Also Known As | Sometimes called a bride's basket frame in the trade, though a piece this size was not made to hold a large art glass bowl

[d]Maker | Barbour Bros. Co., Hartford, Connecticut, assessed from the mark. The firm reorganized as Barbour Silver Co. in 1892 and was absorbed into International Silver Co. in 1898

[d]Marks | Struck to the well of the dish: a circular stamp reading "Barbour Bros Co, Silver, Quadruple, 220"

[d]Construction | Pierced and repousse silverplate panel, with cast tripod legs

[condition]

This frame no longer holds its glass bowl liner. The insert this piece was made to cradle is not present. The well of the dish, where the maker's mark is struck, shows plate loss and dark oxidation concentrated at the center, with lighter tarnish and wear extending across the rest of the surface. The surface has not been polished. The pierced floral panel, swing handle, and tripod legs show no cracks, breaks, or repairs. Please review all photographs closely, as they form part of this description.