Basket 1764 - 1765

Editor: Here we have a silver basket, created by Samuel Herbert. Its precise date is unknown. It's incredibly ornate and seems almost too delicate to actually hold anything. What stories might this basket tell us? Curator: Its fragility belies its purpose, doesn't it? Such objects were often symbols of wealth and status. Consider the societal structures of 18th-century America. Who would have owned this? What does its existence say about their relationship to labor, access, and the burgeoning colonial economy? Editor: So, it's not just a pretty basket, but a representation of social power? Curator: Precisely. It invites us to question the hands that made it and the hands that used it. How does this change your understanding of the piece? Editor: It makes me wonder about the enslaved people who likely contributed to the wealth that afforded such luxury. Curator: Exactly. The basket becomes a potent symbol of both beauty and injustice.