Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie
Centrepiece
ca. 1930 (made)
ca. 1930 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This unique pie was bought by Florence Sharpe for her two grand-daughters from a lady craftsperson in the village of Lindfield in West Sussex. It was a surprise present and was used on special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas. It was placed on the dining room table at tea-time and everyone would sing the nursery rhyme, Four and Twenty Blackbirds. It would then be revealed that the pie contained small presents for the children.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Wadding card and tissue paper |
| Brief description | A hand-made toy pie, Four and Twenty Blackbirds, made in England in about 1930 |
| Physical description | An oval shaped pie with a stiffened inside of card, covered with green tissue paper. The outside is covered with wadding that has been singed to provide a light brown "cooked" finish. The wadding is shaped to form a straight sided pie with a scalloped crust edge. The middle of the top has raised pieces of crust as on a real pie - a four-petalled flower with two large pieces placed longitudinally. Surrounding this central area are twenty four black birds heads with long stiff necks, round heads, long beaks and green eyes. Around part of the pie edge are some fabric holly leaves with red berries. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs Celia Scott |
| Object history | The pies has been in the donor's (Celia Scott, nee Sharpe b.25/09/1925) family since she was a young girl |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | This unique pie was bought by Florence Sharpe for her two grand-daughters from a lady craftsperson in the village of Lindfield in West Sussex. It was a surprise present and was used on special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas. It was placed on the dining room table at tea-time and everyone would sing the nursery rhyme, Four and Twenty Blackbirds. It would then be revealed that the pie contained small presents for the children. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.286-2011 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2012 |
| Record URL |
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