56 
House & Garden 
THE DECORATIVE QUALITY OF POTTERY BIRDS 
J y aluable Accessories That Combine With Flowers in Creating Spots 
of Interest and Color 
MARGARET McELROY 
I T is not strange that in the very begin¬ 
ning birds were one of the main motifs 
in decoration. They had so much to 
offer—color, form and the endless variety of 
motion. That the designer was quick to see 
and seize the tremendous decorative value of 
these qualities is shown by the bird motif 
that has come down the ages. 
Ancient Egyptian decoration was essential¬ 
ly gay, perhaps to counteract the sombreness 
of their architecture. Color was used lav¬ 
ishly and in many instances we find graceful 
and strange looking birds in the frescoes on 
the walls of their tombs and palaces. On 
the side of the sarcophagus of one of the 
wives of King Mentuhotep III, birds are an 
important part of the carved design and a 
famous Egyptian frieze shows three species of 
geese, exquisitely drawn by some artist in 
the Third or Fourth Dynasty, six thousand 
years ago—a decorative record, indeed. 
Their Influence Today 
Gray, green and rose-col¬ 
ored C hine s e porcelain 
birds harmonize well with 
the old Spanish mirror and 
console. Courtesy of Darn- 
ley, Inc. 
So it is to the decorator, perhaps more than 
anyone else, that birds have been the greatest 
source of inspiration the 
world over. There is prac¬ 
tically nothing that goes 
into our homes today that 
has not been touched and 
enhanced by their graceful 
forms, from the countless 
designs on china and chintz 
to the little silver pheasant 
salt shakers or the majestic 
eagle poised proudly on a 
Georgian mirror. 
Of late the wonderfully 
decorative quality of pottery 
and china birds has been 
rediscovered and they hold 
a deservedly prominent 
place among the unusual 
accessories that lend dis¬ 
tinction to an interior. 
Their success is legitimate. 
With the exception of 
flowers, nothing so quickly 
satisfies the demand for 
something truly beautiful as 
a graceful bird in porcelain, 
exquisitely colored. 
Fortunately, these birds 
can be used successfully in 
a variety of places. They are 
as charming an addition to 
an 18th Century’ boudoir as 
they are a successful part in 
the decorating scheme of the 
most modern interior. They 
are adaptable and often 
lend just the note needed— 
that elusive something that 
immediately stamps a room as individual. 
They cannot be used indiscriminately. 
The surroundings must be carefully consid¬ 
ered, especially the background. If you are 
using a pair of brilliant cockatoos, do not 
put them against a color that does not abso¬ 
lutely harmonize. A dull, neutral tone would 
be far the best and one only has to visualize 
the effect against the deep green of their 
native haunts to realize the value of a one- 
tone background. This was peculiarly ex¬ 
emplified in a country house morning room. 
Against a span of casement windows had 
been placed a refectory table. There was 
nothing on it but a large yellow bowl filled 
with spring flowers and two porcelain parrots, 
placed at the right interval on either side. 
The windows were open and the birds had 
for background a green expanse of velvet 
lawn which deepened to almost black in the 
trees beyond. It was a charming picture as 
one entered and demonstrated the immense 
value of birds in a decorating scheme, espe¬ 
cially when placed in so natural a setting. 
It is in sun rooms that they can be used 
perhaps the most effectively. The object of 
this kind of room is to bring 
the outdoors inside the 
house, and here gayly col¬ 
ored birds are more than a 
decorative accessory; they 
are a natural part of the 
surroundings and may be 
placed on a table, or a ledge 
flanking a little fountain; 
they may rest amid a mass 
of foliage or swing non¬ 
chalantly from a perch, or 
may be used simply as wall 
holders for trailing ivy. 
But however placed, they 
are an attractive and gay 
addition to any sun porch 
and can be had in colors 
that will complement prac¬ 
tically any scheme of deco- 
that is desired. 
A brilliant bird makes an 
unusual and attractive 
wall pocket for trailing 
ivy or a cluster of grace¬ 
ful peacock feathers. From 
Darnley, Inc. 
rating 
Table Decorations 
It is not alone in sun 
rooms that these porcelain 
birds are used successfully. 
In one of the loveliest din¬ 
ing rooms that I know, the 
whole color scheme was 
based on the deep blue of 
two china cranes that stood 
Chinese blue peacocks on 
a strip of gold cloth and a 
profusion of colorful fruit 
make an effective table 
decoration. Darnley, Inc. 
