Silver-Plated and Shaded Art Glass Centrepiece Basket from Meriden Britannia Co., 1900

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A deeply ruffled, crimped border defines the removable art glass bowl of this decorative table centrepiece, creating a dramatic flower-like … Read more A deeply ruffled, crimped border defines the removable art glass bowl of this decorative table centrepiece, creating a dramatic flower-like contour around the rim. The glass transitions smoothly from a dense white opaline ground at the centre to an intense ruby-cranberry tone along the fluted perimeter. Moulded with gentle radial ribs beneath, the bowl rests securely inside the circular collar of its matching metalwork base. The silver-plated frame is built in the traditional bride's basket fashion, fitted with a high overhead arch handle intricately cast with twining morning glory blossoms, climbing tendrils and leaves. Below the retaining ring, the circular stand is supported on four cast scroll feet detailed with rococo foliate cartouches, lending stability and elevation to the presentation. Manufactured in Canada by the Meriden Britannia Company, probably around 1900, the underside of the silver-plated base bears the company's impressed maker's mark alongside pattern number 0179. The design bridges Victorian late-nineteenth-century dining tableware and the organic floral influence of the emerging Art Nouveau taste. The assembled centrepiece measures approximately 30 cm in overall height and spans 26 cm across the widest points of the crimped glass rim. See less