Lovely antique Waldorf quadruple silver plate bride basket or cake basket with hand-tooled floral spray engraving in the center and on both ends in a rich dark patina. Ornate applied silverplate border along the outside edges, and a branch and berry design handle.
Waldorf is a trademark of Woodman-Cook Company. There is a moderate amount of discoloration along the base of this quadruple silverplate cake dish basket as shown in the photo. These will not polish out but are only surface deep and do not seem to extend down to the base metal.
The hand-tooled floral spray engraving on each end of this WALDORF cake dish basket feature a lovely long leaf design. The engraving in the center of the basket feature what I would call a daffodil with leaves and sprays. The engraving is very sharp and crisp.
The fancy silverplate swing handle was crafted in the branch and berry design and is extremely detailed! The handle is attached to this cake dish basket with a copper knob flanked by two quadruple silverplate flowers. Just beautiful workmanship from Waldorf!
The four applied feet of this quadruple silverplate cake dish basket seem almost Art Deco in design, with their liner columns and leaf and berry design.
Cake or fruit baskets came into fashion late in the 18th century and experienced their greatest popularity during the first half of the 19th century. These hollowware forms were used to hold carefully arranged fruits or cakes.
Great ceremony often accompanied the display and use of these silver and silver plated cake or fruit baskets, and the delicacies they contained. Most American silver cake baskets and compotes had solid bodies, but a few were made of open, interlaced wirework.
As the close of the 19th century drew near, large numbers of these dishes were made with beautiful multi-colored, ruffled glass bowls. As the century progressed, these amenities grew more elaborate, often having an abundance of naturalistic or stylized ornament added to a complex shape. Many incorporated multi-colored ruffled glass baskets for even greater elegance.
The Victorian dining room, the main room used for many social occasions, was often used for the conspicuous display of wealth through luxurious table objects. Principal among these displays of wealth was the silver cake or fruit basket, always replete with food.
Decorative piercing on early silver was relatively uncommon because each hole had to be laboriously cut out by hand using a tiny jeweler’s saw. Thus, piercing was usually employed only when necessary. The most desirable pieces are elaborately pierced, marked by a well-known and respected silver company and of substantial weight.
Cake baskets are very elegant additions to dining-room silver and remain so today. The best are of substantial weight, often with profuse foliate or animal ornamentation and with a superior finish.
This WALDORF quadruple silverplate cake dish basket is touch marked on the base with WALDORF SILVER PLATE, QUADRUPLE PLATE and the pattern number 429. There isn't much in the way of WALDORF silverplate out on the open market any more, so this is a treasure to be had! There are no dings, dents or repairs to this silverplate cake dish basket, and only minor scrapes noted on the bottom and a few surface scratches on the top. As is, this is a beautiful display piece, re-silvered, it would be a treasure!
The silverplate cake dish basket measures 9-10" from side to side, 8-9" from side to side on the handle sides, stands 2-1/4" high and 7-1/2" high at the top of the handle. The cake dish basket weighs 1-1/2 pounds. You can read more about the history of the Waldorf Silver Company and Woodman-Cook Company here.
A816 - Antique WALDORF Quadruple Silver Plate Bride Basket Cake Dish Basket
$32.00
