Topic: Frosted glass bird under dome - ID = Hofbauer from the Byrde range

[Della]

Hi all,

I found this little chap in Belgium today and wondered if anyone could please provide any information about him, age, maker, use etc.
The whole thing is 4.5" in height.


Click to enlarge

I know nothing about birds either, except the robin that lives in our garden.

Thanks in advance  

[pamela]

Happy New Year Della, to you and your family!

Your bird seems to be a REAL find to me - never seen something equal 

[Della]

Hi Pamela,  :hug:

Thank you and I wish you and your family a wonderful, healthy and prosperous New Year, continuing throughout 2007!

I have seen 1 more, identical, on ebay, but it is also not attributed to anyone and is described as being a paperweight.

[Glen]

I think this is a charming item - most intriguing.

Just for info (but it doesn't help to attribute / identify this one, I'm sorry  ) there was a "bird in a cage" made in Carnival Glass by Summit Art Glass around 3 or 4 years ago. Unlike yours, Della, the Summit one is a solid item, and the little bird inside the cage is part of the moulded pattern.

I wish I could add some useful information - sorry I can't 

[Frank]

I suspect it is Bohemian, but that is really a stab in the dark based on it being an unknown.

I have my own creature in a 'cage' though mine is a snake and part of a glass and lampwork http://www.ysartglass.com/Frank/JulesLang.htm

[Connie]

What a neat piece, Della.

It reminds me of those canary in a cage automated music boxes which are usually brass with a little canary inside.

Is the base recessed enough that it could have held a musical mechanism?

[Della]

Thanks for your replies,

Glen: :hug:
I am not sure what you mean by solid, if you mean that the dome is non-removable, the one on my piece isn't either. I called it a dome for want of a better word. I have tried googling Summit, but can't find anything along these lines.

Frank:
I love the glass in the link you gave, really unusual. 
I will do some searching today, using the Bohemian angle, thanks.

Connie: 
The recess is a sort of 8 sided pyramid and is about 1" rising to 1.25," in the middle, deep. I thought when I bought it that it was supposed to 'sit' on something as there is a slight lip on the underside that gives the impression that it could have been the top piece of something. It is extremely heavy, so I ruled out a lid to a dish. 

[Glen]

Hi Della - I haven't had a coffee yet, so I'm not really compos mentis 

The little bird on the one I have seen (it was in an antique shop in the Cotswolds, but I know the piece was made in the USA) is a figure that is moulded onto the piece. It's a covered jar really - but the "trompe l'oeuil" effect makes one think that it is a bird in a cage. The lid is an inverted V shape (like a coolie hat) on top of the circular jar. The pattern moulded around the outside of the jar makes it look like a bird cage with a little bird inside.

[Della]

Aha.... now I get what you mean (I have just had my coffee  ).
Thank you, Glen 

[Connie]

Some more ideas. Unlike Glen, I have been up since 2 am and had 2 big cups of coffee 

Could be part of the Hofbauer Byrdes series, although your piece looks better? made.  I don't know how long Hofbauer has been in business or when that series started.  I tried searching for history of the company but wasn't successful and Ivo's book didn't have a listing.

Another thought is a candy container.  The kind that was filled with those little pastel balls of candy and had a cardboard lid/bottom.