A look at the design, market and legacy of Victorian pottery

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Majolica Egg Baskets

There's something very homey about egg baskets. For me they codger up memories of childhood and sitting at the breakfast table with my brother and sisters, the soft boiled eggs on their little egg cups waiting for us to break into them with the bowl of the spoon. This is the sort of image I think manufacturers had in mind when they created egg baskets.

Dreyfuss majolica swan egg basket

Egg baskets are a very specific type of container for eggs. To my mind they are not really serving pieces for eggs at a table, though there are many majolica versions of this kind of server.


Holdcroft majolica quail egg server

Holdcroft majolica quail egg server

Dreyfuss majolica egg server

Sarreguemines majolica egg basket
Sarreguemines majolica egg basket

Copeland majolica egg server

Wasmuël majolica egg basket


Egg baskets are more intimate than this. They are for private moments in the morning with family or close friends, each person with their little egg cup. One thing is for certain, egg baskets were used A LOT! Trying to find a baskets with all its egg cups is very hard to do.

Faux bois egg server minus cups

But it can be done! Egg cups are fragile little things that are often damaged. Personally, I would rather have a complete set with damaged egg cups than one with missing egg cups. While it is possible to find individual cups to fill out a set, the chance that they will match is unlikely. It's so common to find egg baskets with mismatched cups from someone else's attempt at filling out a set, but you can find complete sets as well.

Adams & Bromley pineapple egg basket

Skey 4 cup egg basket minus cups

Skey majolica six cup egg basket


Adams & Bromley majolica egg basket

4 cup majolica egg server

6 cup majolica egg server

Fielding majolica egg basket

4 cup majolica egg server

They're hard to find. They're hard to find complete. They're hard to find in good condition, but they are a visual treat that can add a bit of childhood memories to your majolica collection.

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