Birdcage

Status

Not on view

Datec. 1775-1820

Geography Possibly made - United StatesPossibly made - England

Medium/TechniqueWood, wire, lead-glazed earthenware (pearlware), paint

DimensionsOverall: 19 7/8 in. x 12 3/4 in. x 12 3/4 in. (50.48 cm x 32.39 cm x 32.39 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, 2006

Object numberM-4552

DescriptionCage:
Red-painted, square birdcage with a domed top, elongated acorn finial and ring hanging loop, and a pearlware waterer and feeder, on four, tapering, cylindrical, feet with double-ring turned cuffs. The base of the case is formed from a single-board base, stiles or uprights at each corner, rails that cover the lower third of each side, and stretchers that connect the stiles at the top. The side rails and stretchers are beaded on their upper, outside edge and the stiles are beaded along their outside corner. Vertical wires extend between the rails and the stretchers to form the rest of the walls; a horizontal wire connects them at the halfway mark. The top of the cage is formed from vertical wires bent to form a dome, which are joined to the circular, wooden disk at center from which the finial emerges. A horizontal wire also connects the wires of the top at the halfway mark. A wooden hoop hanging from the center of the cage which served as the bird’s perch. There is a door at the front that is held closed with a “U” shaped piece of wire that can be rotated up to open the door. There is a slot that opens outwards below the door that is held closed with another rotating wire. The pearlware waterer and feeder are attached to the sides of the cage with wire and mylar tape.

Waterer:
Hollow, teardrop-shaped, molded and enameled pearlware waterer on a shallow foot ring with a cylindrical stem projecting out the back. Within an oval, maroon bordered reserve on the front is a standing swordsman holding a sword at his side which points to a severed head at his feet on the viewer’s left. A turned black knob plugs the hole in the top which is used to fill it. Another hole at the end of the stem allows the water to be retrieved by the birds. White body, finely crazed all over having a clear glaze with a blue cast.

Feeder:
Hollow, molded and enameled pearlware feeder in the form of a half-cylinder with a bell-shaped top and a cherub-head finial. The front is adorned with a green-and-rust border of leaves and berry above an oval reserve with a white mare and her spotted foal grazing. Below this scene is a half-round molding, enameled in rust, which runs around the front. At the back, an opening in the upper half of the back allows the bird to retrieve feed from it. White body, finely crazed all over having a clear glaze with a blue cast.

Published ReferencesNortheast Auctions, Summer Americana Auction August 4, 2006, (Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Northeast Auctions, 2006), lot 325.

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