PROBABLY GENOESE, LATE 17TH CENTURY

Filigree, a type of delicate metalwork made by twisting together threads of silver or gold, has been widely produced throughout Europe and Asia from ancient times to the present day. The distinctive form of this example marks it out as a layette basket, suggesting that it was either made in Europe or for a European market. Layette baskets were particularly popular in seventeenth century Holland, where they were used for holding the linen and clothes of new born babies. However, the form of the filigree itself relates this basket more closely with silver from Genoa, as seen, for example, with the rectangular Genoese tray formerly in the Alessandro Basevi collection, which shows similarities in both the placement of the filigree and the construction of the basket.