Against a field of turquoise blue, a parakeet eyes two fluttering butterflies, perhaps with mayhem in mind. The butterflies can escape, however, for the unfortunate budgie is chained by his foot to his perch. A sprig of greenery adds a suggestion of nature, but this bird is clearly a domestic pet.

In addition to strong colors, a striking contrast exists between the opaque, slightly-raised enamels in which the birds are executed and the sense of depth created by the translucent glaze used for the ground color. The asymmetry of the composition and the un-posed depiction of the parakeet and insects speak of the Japanese influences sweeping European design in the eighteen-seventies and eighties.

The narrow border reinforces the far eastern influence. Here the turquoise glaze provides the ground for a more obvious imitation of Asian cloisonne metalwork--the illusion created by carefully applied enamels and all-important touches of gilding. A wider gilded band, with a dot pattern created by the raised paste gilding technique, surrounds the central scene.

Minton designers expanded their decorative vocabulary by borrowing from other cultural traditions and even from non-ceramic media. To emulate the look of cloisonne enamels in which fused enamel colors are kept separate and distinct with shaped metal wires, Minton employed thick opaque color against a translucent ground glaze. Fine gilded details substitute for the exposed metal wires. These wares became a staple of the pottery's offerings at international expositions, beginning in Paris in 1867.

The range of Minton's cloisonne effects extends from tight geometric compositions to the more naturalistic bird, bug, and flower pieces popular in the Meiji pieces entering and strongly influencing Europe and America at the time. Our cabinet plate exhibits Minton's acumen in both the geometric and naturalistic modes.

A complimentary plate from the same series is listed elsewhere on this website.