Antique Silver Basket Ornate Silver Plate 1800's Wonderful Made in Connecticut

Description

This is an ornate antique basket in a Victorian style made by Middletown Plate Co in Middletown CT. There is a button plate attached to the bottom that identifies the maker and place, along with “Quadruple Plate” and the style number “1779 ½”. This company began business in 1864 and was purchased in 1899 by the International Silver Co and production was transferred to the Wilcox Silver Plate Co factory.
It has an oval shape, is pointed on both ends of the basket and is about 12-3/8” long by 8-1/8” deep. With the handle up, it is just under 12” high. There is an oval foot which is also decorated.
No monogram on the center of the handle! The pattern is cut in a filigree style, which adds to the decorative quality.
This basket has a wonderful aged patina. There is wear and tarnish with some white sweating and silverplate loss (see last photo for examples) that I love. That said, if you wish to clean and polish, I’m sure you could. There is one small break in the filigree near the handle on one side (see last photo), but this is a solid piece and because of the style the break is not particularly noticeable. There is also a slight rim distortion—see last photo.
All in all, this would make a wonderful center piece at the bride and groom's table, that "something old" for a new bride to carry down the aisle, or a more formal basket for the little flower girl as she scatters flower petals down the aisle in advance of the bride's party.
See high resolution photos for more and use the magnify feature. I offer multiple shipping methods--please review them all, because ebay doesn't always show the cheapest option in the summary.