A CHINESE PARCEL-GILT SILVER AND POLYCHROME ENAMEL FILIGREE MODEL OF A PARROT, UNMARKED, PROBABLY 18TH CENTURY

Otto F. Ernst, Gold-und Silberschmiedearbeiten 15 -19. Jahrhundert, Wiesbaden, 1969, p. 12, no. 41.

The particular 'signature' of the filigree in the base of this table decoration, a corded wire forming a comma at the centre, can be found on a number of pieces of Chinese filigree that have a certain provenance to the 18th century. Particular among these is the toilet set `transferred from the entresol of Catherine the Great in the Winter Palace in 1789.' The construction of pieces in the toilet set of the Russian Empress is comparable to the table decoration in other ways. The body and tail of the birds on the table mirror in Russia are made from wire bent into elongated U shapes like the head and shoulders of the parrot. In addition the toilet set includes two table ornaments in the form of cranes, incorporating in a similar way, shaped stands with a reflective surface, enamel, parcel-gilding and using a range of filigree techniques to provide interest. The toilet set can be dated to at least 1789 because of the record of its transfer but it it thought to be from the 1740-50s. (Dr Maria Menshikova et al., Exhibition catalogue, Silver Wonders from the East, filigree of the Tsars, 27 April-17 September 2006, nos. 14-26.