The pears are the whole point — yellow shading into green and orange, each one hand applied, exactly as a ripe pear should look.
Maker: Unknown
Materials: Wire metal with plasticized paint, hand applied resin pears and leaves
Dimensions: 10"H overall (including handle); basket 3.5"H; 8" diameter top opening; 6" diameter base
Origin: USA (estimated)
Era: Vintage, 1960s–1970s (possibly earlier)
Condition: Very good — rustic wear, missing paint, and light rust consistent with age; part of the charm. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.
This round wire metal basket is covered in a cream plasticized paint and ringed with hand applied fruit and leaves. Unmarked, but the style and wear suggest American origin, possibly as far back as the 1940s — though we're placing it conservatively in the 1960s–70s. The missing paint and faint rust are not flaws here; they are precisely what makes this piece work. It has the honest patina of something that was used and loved, and that story is written all over it.
Filled with real fruit on a kitchen counter, tucked into a French country vignette, or used as a bread basket — it earns its place anywhere that welcomes warmth and a little imperfection.
Wire fruit baskets decorated with hand-applied resin or chalkware produce were a familiar mid-century American kitchen accessory, part of a broader decorating trend that brought realistic faux fruit — in bowls, on wallpaper, on canisters — into postwar American homes; the style peaked in the 1950s–60s and has remained a beloved piece of nostalgic farmhouse and cottage kitchen decor ever since.
Browse our shop for more vintage wire baskets and mid-century kitchen decor to round out your collection.
