Each month, we highlight a special object from the Aronson Antiquairs collection. This month, we are pleased to present a set of open work fruit baskets.

Delft flower baskets, intended for floral arrangements, have formed part of the repertoire of Delft potteries since the later seventeenth century. Certain workshops even appointed specialists devoted exclusively to the production of these so-called bennetjes. Dated examples reveal that they were frequently commissioned as gifts for festive or ceremonial occasions, underscoring their dual function as both utilitarian and ornamental objects. Their presence in distinguished collections, including that of Paleis Het Loo, attests to their prestige.

This mid-eighteenth-century pair, with its intended use indicated on the bottom, confirms that the tradition of arranging flowers in ceramic baskets continued, albeit on a more modest scale. The relatively small number of surviving eighteenth-century examples suggests that the practice reached its zenith in the final quarter of the seventeenth century. The delicately pierced body and carefully executed decoration of this pair point to the hand of an accomplished and experienced maker.

D2554
Blue and White Pair of Open Work Baskets
Delft, circa 1750

Each marked IB in blue for Justus Brouwer of De Porceleyne Byl (The Porcelain Axe) factory from 1739 to 1775

Each finely painted with an elaborate central scene depicting a basket brimming with fruit, resting on an ornate baroque table and surrounded by delicately rendered insects and butterflies, the pierced sides highlighted in cobalt blue, the handles molded in the form of interlocking dolphins, the upper rim featuring a scrollwork band both on the exterior and the interior, the lower exterior decorated with a geometrical band of squares and triangles with stripes in the middle.

DIMENSIONS
Width: 25.5 and 26 cm. (10 and 10.2 in.)

PROVENANCE
Cor & An Erwich (Barbet) Collection, Belgium;
Aronson Antiquairs, Amsterdam

PRICE
€ 26.000 (US$ 31.000 export*) incl. shipping
(excl. local taxes, if applicable)