Silversmiths Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner operated in Boston before moving to Philadelphia, where their firm prospered from 1811 – 1842. They imported plated silver objects from Sheffield and Birmingham, England, while also supplying fine silver vessels made to their own designs. This basket, with its upswept oblong shape and sculptural ornament, may have been inspired by imported British plated pieces. The cornucopia-shaped handles symbolize agricultural plenty, associated not only with Demeter, ancient goddess of the harvest, but also with the abundance of the fledgling United States.