Victorian Satin Glass Center Bowl or “Bride’s Basket” with Cherub Stand by American Wilcox Silver Plate Co., Meriden Connecticut Circa 1870-1880

Victorian satin glass center bowl or “Bride’s Basket” with cherub stand by American Wilcox Silver Plate Co., Meriden Connecticut, circa 1870-1880. Satin glass was very popular during the Victorian era for its silky, matt look and in the 19th century, a bride’s basket was the go-to gift. Extremely popular in the 1880s as a luxury gift for a bride on her wedding day, bride’s baskets were an elegant way to express beauty, love, and graciousness. The intended use was for the flower girls to scatter flower petals down the church aisle.

The exquisite ruffled edge bowl is 3 layers of sandwiched “glass art” design. The interior layer is yellow/green mother-of-pearl and the exterior is shaded iridescent cranberry glass both “sandwiched” with a clear glass design in the middle.   The “sandwiched”  clear glass is in an “air trap herringbone” pattern. The exterior is hand painted with enamel floral (forget-me-nots) and gilt foliage decoration. The underside of the bowl is marked 1118/1 P.444. There is a bite on one of the outer tip edges of the ruffle clear glass “sandwich” which is not noticeable considering the undular edge design and that the cranberry & yellow/green glass layers are intact.

The silver plated stand is comprised of a tripod arrangement of 3 “dancing” cherubs that supports the top plate which is specifically designed to house the bottom rim the satin bowl. Beautifully engraved on the top plate with “For You” in a cherub design. There is minimal “rubbing ” of the silver plate on the inside edge of one of the cherubs. The bottom of the stand is marked Wilcox Silver Plate Co., “2684 “. The Wilcox Silver Plate Co. designs are in several major American museum collections.

This is an exquisite centerpiece with many historical craftsmanship references and to be sure “wedding stories”.

Dimensions: total height 10.5″ x max diameter 10″