Lot Essay
The present basket is a variation on a type that Reinier Brandt produced from circa 1765 onwards. Initially these baskets were entirely executed in rococo style. The openworked sides of this basket however do already include some classical motifs such as vases, garlands and laurel wreaths. These motifs are characteristic for the neo-classical style that followed on the rococo period.
A small number of baskets with nearly identical decoration have survived: sale F. Muller, Amsterdam-5-1921, no. 834 (1769); sale Mak van Waay, Amsterdam-01-1975, no. 250 (1772, according to De Lorm possibly a forgery op. cit., p. 150, cat. 87); and sale Mak van Waay, Amsterdam,-09-1976, no. 2989 (1773). Because none of these baskets forms part of a public collection this variation is relatively unknown. We find the basic features of this variant, i.e. the vases placed centrally below the garlands and the laurel wreath encircling the centrally placed daffodils, as early as 1769. Around 1 Brandt seems to have applied this composition more frequently. The composition seems not to have been restricted to Amsterdam. It was applied in an identical manner in 1778 by Rotterdam silversmith Rudolf Sondagh (sales Mak van Waay, Amsterdam 2-6-1970, no. 2779 and 11-6-1974, no. 3590). His designs for bread baskets clearly depend on the work of Brandt as may be illustrated by a second basket made in 1773 (Rotterdam Historical Museum, N.I. Schadee, op. cit., p. 107, no. 156).
A small number of baskets with nearly identical decoration have survived: sale F. Muller, Amsterdam-5-1921, no. 834 (1769); sale Mak van Waay, Amsterdam-01-1975, no. 250 (1772, according to De Lorm possibly a forgery op. cit., p. 150, cat. 87); and sale Mak van Waay, Amsterdam,-09-1976, no. 2989 (1773). Because none of these baskets forms part of a public collection this variation is relatively unknown. We find the basic features of this variant, i.e. the vases placed centrally below the garlands and the laurel wreath encircling the centrally placed daffodils, as early as 1769. Around 1 Brandt seems to have applied this composition more frequently. The composition seems not to have been restricted to Amsterdam. It was applied in an identical manner in 1778 by Rotterdam silversmith Rudolf Sondagh (sales Mak van Waay, Amsterdam 2-6-1970, no. 2779 and 11-6-1974, no. 3590). His designs for bread baskets clearly depend on the work of Brandt as may be illustrated by a second basket made in 1773 (Rotterdam Historical Museum, N.I. Schadee, op. cit., p. 107, no. 156).
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