This is a lovely piece of British antique kitchenalia.
It takes the form of a nesting hen sitting on a basket - she is waiting for her little chicks to hatch from the eggs seen to the front.
This lovely example dates to the late 19th century and was made by one of the English Staffordshire potteries. I have added lots of images for your inspection.
This is not a reproduction piece - but a genuine 19th-century antique. It is sold as such. It was made by Dudson in the 1840s - 1860s.
The hen has a matt and eggshell finish to the paintwork - and this example is quite exquisitely decorated. The many colours of the bird's feathers are grey in tone - with rust-red flashes on her breast and her back. There is bright red to her wattle and comb. A black and white striped tail and matching wings. There are also little raised white dots all over (which I love) to give texture all over her back and on top of her wings. The base takes the form of an oval woven basket - it is pale yellow.
My bird is in generally good condition - there are no losses to the paintwork.
The basket rim inside has had a few wee nibbles to the edge - these have been restored and are not visible on display or general inspection. His is not such a worry given the age of the chicken on the nest - and that it is a functional item in the kitchen for storing eggs. The upper section of the chicken is in excellent condition with no damage of any sort. It looks just fabulous.
There is a little (and very old) nibble or graze to the rim on the underside - very shallow and discoloured with age, and a very fine (and again old) hairline crack - which I think looks more like it has been done in the firing - and confined to the surface inside - hard to see unless you look in close up. Very minor issues of age and fine and to be expected on a hen of this age. It is also taken into consideration in my pricing.
As these hens go - this is a bit of a larger size.
The measurements are as follows: from the beak to the end of tail feathers is 8 inches. The height from the top of the tail feathers to the bottom of the nest base is about 7 1/2 inches.
The base section measures 8 1/2 x 6 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches.
Just a lovely example of these highly collectable nesting hens on a basket.
It will be posted to you in the UK only. This will be with Parcelforce24 and it will be packed carefully in a sturdy box to keep safe and transit. This will cost £10 and applied to your order at the checkout.