Openwork fruit basket
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain with underglaze blue decoration
Dimensions
Diam. 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm)
Classification
Basket
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Ronald S. Kane Bequest, in memory of Berry B. Tracy, and Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang and Robert L. Froelich Gifts, 2018
Accession Number
2018.407
Art Historical Context
This delicate openwork fruit basket, around 1770–72 by the American China Manactory founded by Gousse Bonnin George Anthony Morris, represents one of the earliest triumphs in American porcelain production. Established in Philadelphia during the colonial era, the manufactory aimed to rival expensive European imports like those from Meissen or Wedgwood, fostering homegrown luxury goods amid growing calls for economic independence. At just 5⅞ inches in diameter, this petite basket was likely designed for elegant table service, its pierced sides allowing light to dance through the lattice-like pat...
About the Artist
George Anthony Morris|Gousse Bonnin|American China Manufactory ( | |American) · | |1770 – | |1772
| |Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1770–1772