Cake or Bread Basket 1800 - 1818

This silver cake or bread basket was made by Samuel Richards Jr., a silversmith working in Philadelphia in the early 19th century. Think about the social rituals around food and entertaining that this object implies. Silverware like this wasn't just functional; it was a display of wealth and status in a young republic still defining its social hierarchies. The neoclassical design, with its clean lines and restrained ornamentation, reflects the taste of the elites who sought to emulate European styles while forging a distinctly American identity. Examining probate records, newspapers, and other period documents can give us a richer understanding of how objects like this circulated within networks of commerce and kinship, shaping social relations and material culture in early America. This bread basket shows us how art history can be about so much more than aesthetics.