Basket 1783 - 1784

This basket was made by Robert Hennell I in the late 18th or early 19th century, almost certainly in London. It’s formed from thin sheets of silver, with a cut-away design that resembles latticework. The intricate filigree would have been cut and shaped by highly skilled silversmiths, bending the metal without tearing it. They probably used hammers and stakes, small hand tools, to slowly coax the silver into shape. This was a period that really valued hand work, even as industrialization was gathering pace. Note the basket’s refined neoclassical details, made possible by divisions of labor within the workshop. Think of the social context in which an object like this would have been used. Silver was a luxury material then as now, and this would have signaled the wealth and status of its owner. The basket’s delicacy reflects a culture of leisure and consumption, and a whole system of production that depended on it. So, by taking a closer look at the way things are made, we can get a richer understanding of the history that they carry within them.