Large Antique Aesthetic Movement mixed metal fan-shaped basket /centerpiece

Description

Antique Aesthetic Movement mixed metal fan-shaped basket centerpiece
A
large and beautifully made Aesthetic Movement* (circa 1880) silver and gold plated bronze fan-shaped basket in the " Japonism" style with exquisite decoration of applied birds, leaves and vine, an asymetrical mixed metal Japanese style motif on the inside of the tray and a scalloped border, all in excellent age appropriate condition with very little gold and silver plating loss and only very minor use related surface scratches. probably French.
It
is very nicely made and heavy and can be used as a fruit bowl or a centerpiece. A beautiful example of aesthetic movement decorative arts.
Aestheticism
(also the
Aesthetic Movement
) was an
art movement
, both practical and theoretical, of the late 19th century supporting an emphasis on
aesthetic
value and effects— in preference to the socio-political themes and positions— of
literature
,
fine art
,
music
and other
arts
.
This meant that the art of the movement was produced with a view toward being beautiful first and foremost, rather than serving a moral, allegorical, doctrinal or other such purpose — "art for art's sake". It was particularly prominent in England during the late 19th century, supported by notable writers such as
Walter Pater
and
Oscar Wilde
, having started in a small way in the 1860s in the studios and houses of a radical group of artists and designers, including
William Morris
and
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
, reformers who explored new ways of living in defiance of the design standards of the age as revealed in the
1851 Great Exhibition
at
Hyde Park, London
. Flourishing in the 1870s and 1880s, critic Walter Hamilton was the first writer to name the movement, publishing
The Aesthetic Movement in England
in 1882.
Aestheticism challenged the values of mainstream
Victorian culture
, as many Victorians believed that literature and art fulfilled important ethical roles.
Writing in
The Guardian
, Fiona McCarthy states, “the aesthetic movement stood in stark and sometimes shocking contrast to the crass
materialism
of Britain in the 19th century.”
[
By the 1890s,
decadence
, a term with origins in common with aestheticism, was in use across Europe.
Size
: 10 " H x 17" L x 12 1/2" D
26 1/2 cm H x 43 cm L x 31.7 cm D
Condition
:  Very good to excellent age appropriate condition. Please look at the detail photos.
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