Mini “Royal Sussex Trug” square basket
In the 1820s, shortly before Queen Victoria's access to the throne, a man from Sussex, named Thomas Smith, invented the "Sussex Trug": a basket made of chestnut and willow wood assembled with copper nails, inspired from old “trogs” once used in Anglo-Saxon farms to measure grain, beer or milk.
A few years later, Thomas Smith exhibited his basket at the 1851 World's Fair in Hyde Park. Queen Victoria was immediately seduced and placed an order to offer it to members of the “Royal Family”.
The Sussex Trug then becomes “Royal”, and a symbol of the traditional, world-famous English gardening scene.
Today, “Royal Sussex Trugs” are still made “the old way”: a wooden basket made from a handle and rim of sweet chestnut wood. The body of the trug is made of five or seven thin boards of white willow. Nails are in copper to avoid rust.
Just like this mini square basket, with entirely debarked wood, which poetically and delicately illustrates the technicality of this ancestral expertise.
NB: Each basket is unique, authenticated, numbered and signed by the craftsman who made it.
British baskets,
If you want to learn more about this craftsman, it's ici !
Because we're handmade, all our items are unique, even in small production runs. At La Maison de Commerce, you'll never find 2 identical objects, especially the one in the photo and yours. This guarantees its authenticity and beauty, as well as the few irregularities inherent in its manufacture by the best craftsmen in France and Europe. All our items are delivered with a certificate of authenticity issued by La Maison de Commerce.
