It’s that time of year again – time to bellow “five go-oold rings” at the top of your voice. We’ve put together a Christmas cracker of a treat for you with our own alternative version of the Twelve Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
A partridge in a pear tree
Well – a sauce container shaped like a partridge at any rate. A rather fetching centrepiece for the festive dinner table maybe? Certainly another weird and wonderful object collected by Henry Wellcome in the early twentieth century. Frankly any beau of mine giving me a partridge (alive or in ceramic form) would quickly be crossed off my festive shopping list…
Two Turtle Doves
Although it sounds like a freakish genetic experiment to cross-breed a reptile and a bird, the Turtle Dove is actually a rather glamorous cousin of the pigeon.
In its place we have a rather lovely hidden treasure from our Blythe House store – a mother-of-pearl charm shaped as a dove. And if peace on earth isn’t enough, here’s an equally splendid beaded turtle amulet to wish you good health (this amulet may contain a piece of umbilical cord – check out the link to find out why!).
Three French Hens
These hens might not be French (or technically hens as i think these are male chucks, and ok – there’s only two rather than three in the picture…) – BUT they are Nobel Prize wining poultry. Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866-1945) bred this pair of Sebright Bantams in order to investigate the genetic inheritance of plumage and inadvertently discovered the role played by chromosomes in heredity.
- Sebright bantams, United States, 1914-1924
Hope you’ve enjoyed part 1 of our festive foray into the collections – check back for the next 3 installments, and have a very Merry Christmas!