Bread basket

Daniel Christian Fueter's extraordinary silver bread basket is one of the most sophisticated examples of Rococo silver made in the American colonies. Simultaneously light and monumental, the basket is a tour de force of design and technique. The delicate, lacy openwork lends a sense of liveliness as light plays on the reflecting solids and through the voids of the pierced body, and yet the seemingly whimsical pattern is tightly controlled in execution and further contained by a solid, cast border of undulating fruit and foliage. All of the cast, or molded, elements-the detailed and pierced border, scrolled feet, and twisted handle with unusual female masks-defy the solidity of their structure and add to the curving movement of the work.Fueter, born and trained in Switzerland, arrived in New York with his family in 1754 after fleeing from Bern because of his involvement in a failed plot to overthrow the local government. He made this basket for Richard Harrison, whose family's coat of arms is engraved on the interior. The basket was most likely created about the time of Harrison's graduation from Columbia University in 1764, before Fueter left the city to pursue a three-year, ill-fated mining venture in Connecticut. Harrison undoubtedly came from a family of wealth and power, as few young men could afford such an extravagant luxury. Later in life, Harrison served his country as a delegate to the New York constitutional convention of 1788, and in 1789 was appointed by George Washington to be the first U.S. district attorney.This text was adapted from Ward, et al., MFA Highlights: American Decorative Arts & Sculpture (Boston, 2006) available at www.mfashop.com/mfa-publications.html.

This is one of the most sophisticated examples of American Rococo silver. Simultaneously light and monumental, the basket is a tour-de-force of design and technique. The delicate, lacy openwork lends a sense of liveliness, as light reflects off the solids and plays through the voids of the pierced body. Yet, the seemingly whimsical pattern is tightly controlled in execution and further contained by a solid, cast border of undulating fruit and foliage. The cast elements-border, scrolled feet, and twisted handle with unusual female masks-defy the solidity of their structure and add to the curving movement of the piece.