What is it and what is it for?

What is commonly referred to today as a bride’s basket was originally called a berry dish and used for fruit. Other names used to describe these silver and glass items were fruit baskets and fruit bowls. Those without overhead handles were fruit stands. The term “bride’s basket” evolved because a fruit or berry bowl with stand was a very popular gift for the bride-to-be in the 19th century.

During the 1880s, fancier glass inserts began to appear, and the styles available were numerous by the 1890s. American silver and silverplate manufacturers used glass inserts produced in both the United States and Europe. The makers they originated from were not meticulously documented by the silver manufacturers as they were more concerned with their silver stands.

Over the years, many glass inserts have been separated from the stands due, in part, to the glass collector’s interest in the art glass only. Today, there seems to be gaining interest among collectors in keeping the original pieces together or trying to “marry” or match a glass insert with an appropriate silverplated stand based on documented images from the original manufacturers’ catalogs.

Left: Silver manufacturers included limited descriptions of the art glass in their catalogs. These are identified only as “colored glass” and “pink glass”

Sometimes the cake basket is mistaken for a bride’s basket. Generally, cake baskets have hinged handles and are movable whereas the bride’s basket handle is stationary. Cake baskets did not have glass inserts.