Key Basket (Primary Title)

Unknown (Artist)

ca. 1830-60
American
Containers
Decorative Arts
Textiles
Leather, embossed, appliquéd, and stitched
Richmond (possibly), Virginia, United States
Overall: 9 × 9 × 6 in. (22.86 × 22.86 × 15.24 cm)
95.80

A unique form of American folk art, hand-tooled leather baskets were crafted almost exclusively in Virginia and North Carolina to hold the numerous heavy keys that owners required for large residences and outbuildings. Typically engagement or wedding gifts, the baskets were embossed with the bride’s initials—in this instance M.J.E.—and decorated with symbols of love, happiness, and prosperity.

This maker, known only by the initials G.F., is likely one of a handful of artisans, both white and black, who produced key baskets in antebellum Richmond. The fine stitching, stamped patterns, and inlaid colored hearts distinguish the craftsman’s individual work.

Initialed "M. J. E." and "G. F."
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Franklin P. Watkins; Gift of Miss Miriam Hill, by exchange
Made in America, Craft Icons of the 50 States, Mingei International Museum, San Diego, California, September 26, 2015 - February 21, 2016
O’Leary, Elizabeth L., Sylvia Yount, Susan Jensen Rawles, and David Park Curry. American Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Charlottesville: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts with the University of Virginia Press, 2010. (Fig. 50, p. 84).
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC

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