Early American Silver - 06_37a (scroll down to see image)

An American “Strawberry Basket (SOLD)
by Tiffany & Co.
Width: 5 1/2", Weight: 29 oz.

Formed as a wooden “strawberry basket”, this piece was designed by Van Day Truex, Tiffany’s design director from 1956 to 1979. John Loring illustrates a silver-gilt example in Tiffany’s 20th Century: A Portrait of American Style pp. 160-1, saying “Louis Comfort Tiffany had based some of his jewelry designs on weeds such as dandelions and Queen Anne’s lace; Van Day Truex expanded on this tradition by basing Tiffany & Co. objects on common articles of everyday use. His “Strawberry Box” was made of vermeiled sterling silver, yet it was otherwise an exact replica of throwaway wooden boxes used for selling berries in grocery stores. This Midas-like transformation also had Dadaist and Surrealist aspects, recalling Marcel Duchamp’s “ready-mades,” such as the snow shovel he displayed as a work of art.”