Traditional wire-work egg baskets are good looking and relatively affordable. I happen to think that they are an infinitely preferable way to keep your eggs- although, of course, there are some odd people out there who insist on keeping them in the 'fridge.
They were popular in France during the 19th century, and the style is still in production. "Antique" baskets are a good buy, but you need to be a bit careful. I suspect that many of the baskets advertised as "antique" are in fact of a relatively recent date, and in any event, how can one tell the difference between a basket made in the 1940s' and one made in the late 19th century? How easy it would be to take a brand-new basket and bury it in the garden for a month or so!
The time-honoured definition of "antique" is anything made over one hundred years ago, and American customs still use it as a formal definition, even though there are many honest dealers in America who consistently use the term "antique" for stuff made in the 1960's. In England, we're a bit fussier, and I would expect any honest dealer selling me an "antique" to believe that his ware was made before 1912.
I'm very amused by the term "vintage" which, I reckon, has now been with us for about fifteen years or so. You see this at those awful celebrity premieres: so-and-so "in vintage". Frankly, it's meaningless, and a wonderful euphemism for "second-hand". Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. Being in the antiques business, my whole raison d'être revolves around the second-hand, and there's nothing like a sudden cold snap to bring on new business.
By the way, salad baskets or saladiers are also very similar in design, though are more likely to have a narrower open space at the top. French ebay is going to be an excellent source for the older baskets- if you're prepared to pay the postage. If you're after a modern basket, this one (pictured above) is available from the worm that turned, priced at £15.25.
This one was recently sold on Etsy by the loosegoose. There's also another one up for sale at The French Country Home, priced at 38 Euros. The seller has very sensibly described it as "old" and left it at that.
This basket was sold by Curate & Love on Etsy for $42.00. Nice basket, but when do you think it was made?
