Three Meissen porcelain miniature figures of birds, mid-18th century

The cockerel:

The Collection of Sir Gawaine & Lady Baillie, Sotheby’s, London, 1 May 2013, lot 191 (part lot);

Acquired at the above sale.

The Vienna parrot:

Christie's, London, 7 October 1996, lot 442;

The Collection of Sir Gawaine & Lady Baillie, sold, Sotheby’s, London, 1 May 2013, lot 109 (part lot);

Acquired at the above sale.

For a detailed discussion of Meissen’s extensive production of smaller scale animals and birds, intended as table decorations, see Maureen Cassidy-Geiger’s introductory essay to the Sotheby’s London sale of the Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie Collection (1 May 2013): ‘‘An Jagd-Stücken, unterschiedenen Thieren, Feder Viehe, Hunden und Katzen’: A Context for the Meissen Porcelain Animals and Birds in the Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie Collection’.

Few private collections can rival the distinction, scale, and historic importance of the Baillie Collection of 18th-century Meissen porcelain birds and animals. Assembled over two generations with discerning vision and unwavering passion, it stands among the most celebrated collections of its kind ever to come to market. The story of the collection began in the 1930s, when Lady Baillie—heiress to the illustrious American Whitney family—began acquiring Meissen birds for Leeds Castle, the medieval residence she had magnificently restored. There, amid one of England’s most storied settings, the collection took shape as a reflection of both refined taste and scholarly intent. Her son, Gawaine, raised in the presence of these masterworks, inherited not only the collection but also his mother’s connoisseurship. Together with his wife Margot, he expanded it with remarkable acuity, transforming it into a collection of exceptional breadth, comprising more than 140 models.