bird-feeder BM-1947-0712.173

Period:Ming dynasty Production date:1426-1435
Materials:porcelain
Technique:glazed, underglazed,
Subjects:fruit
Dimensions:Height: 4.50 centimetres Length: 11.50 centimetres

Description:
Porcelain bird feeder (niao shi guan) in the form of two joined peaches with underglaze blue decoration. The two hollowed-out peaches are joined top to top with a peach branch applied in high relief holding the two fruits together. There is no connecting hole between the two peaches. Above the branch is a six-character Xuande reign mark divided into two groups of three characters. Two loops for the attachment of the feeder to a bird cage are on the other side. The branch and reign mark are painted in underglaze blue. The bird feeder is otherwise covered inside and out by a blue-white glaze. The rims are unglazed, suggesting the piece was fired upside down in the kiln.
IMG


Comments:Harrison-Hall 2001:The earliest bird feeders in blue-and-white were made in the Yuan era. Several porcelains, made to be attached to bird cages, have survived from the early Ming period as evidence of the popularity of bird rearing at court. Some of these would have contained water, others food such as hemp seeds, which Chinese still give to birds, believing that it makes them sing more sweetly. ‘Niao long hua cha’ [bird cage flower vases], small tubular containers with double loops attached, were made to fit on to the side of a bird cage, to display an attractive flower, thus making the cage look more elegant. Caged birds were taught to talk, sing and perform tricks for entertainment.Blue-and-white feeders in a wide variety of different shapes have been unearthed, for example from the Xuande stratum at the imperial kiln site in Jingdezhen. One of these is a ‘niao shi guan’ in the form of two similarly joined pomegranates. Others are in the imperial collections in Taipei, such as an ovoid feeder with peony decoration and a tubular vase.