The discovery of artifacts from ancient cities, particularly those cities that were not re-settled and covered by layers of civilization, often helps shape our understanding of various aspects of life and culture in the ancient world. One such city is Tusculum, which was destroyed and abandoned in the twelfth-century and re-discovered in the early nineteenth century. In the present article, Wladimir de Grüneisen briefly recounts the history of the city and the history of archaeological surveys over the previous century. Then, de Grüneisen uses a basket-design column capital and transom discovered at Tusculum to survey the history of the basket-desgin in art and architecture in the ancient world. De Grüneisen includes several images for comparison and thoroughly covers the basket-capital artistic trope from various archaeological discoveries throughout the ancient world.