20th century Danish silver bread basket, having a gadrooned…

• Gadrooning - A series of lobes usually as a border. In furniture gadrooning is found as carved decoration around the edges of table tops in the Chippendale and Jacobean style furniture. Gadrooning is also found as decoration on the rims of silver and ceramics.
• Bread Basket - Bread baskets were commonly used from the 17th to the 19th centuries in Europe and America as a serving piece at formal meals. In the early 17th century, bread baskets were made of wood, pewter and later silver as it was an expensive and prestigious material and demonstrated off the host?s wealth and status.
  
  These bread baskets were usually oval or circular in shape, and were typically decorated with intricate engravings, embossing, and other decorative details. Some were plain and simple, while others were quite ornate, featuring raised scrollwork, beading, or other decorative motifs. Those made in the early 17th century tend to have two handles but surviving examples are rare. From the mid 1770s they usually have a central swing handle. The handles were typically ornate and often curved or scrolled. The shape and size of these baskets varies; some are large, meant to hold multiple loaves, others are more compact and meant for one loaf. By the 18th century, most bread baskets were made of silver.
• Scallop / Shell Motif - The shell motif has been used in furniture and decorative arts for centuries. In ancient Greece and Rome, shells were often used as decorative elements on furniture and in mosaics. The scallop or cockleshell are the most commonly used. During the Renaissance, the shell motif became popular in furniture and architecture, as the ornate decoration was seen as a symbol of wealth and luxury. In the 18th century, the Rococo style of furniture and decorative arts featured an abundance of shell motifs, and it was used by Thomas Chippendale and as a feature on Queen Anne style cabriole legs. In the 19th century, the shell motif was incorporated into Victorian furniture and decorative items, and often a representation of the the conch shell was inlaid into furniture.
  
  

This item has been included into following indexes:

• bowls and dishes, silver - silver, Edwardian and 20th century 372
• silver, country of manufacture - Danish 156