Читать книгу Birds For Dummies - Gina Spadafori - Страница 93

Although largely inadequate for the needs of modern pet birds, some antique birdcages are beautiful, ornate works of art, meant to mimic temples, mansions, and other examples of architectural splendor, created from the finest woods and jewels. According to information from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, birdcages were probably a common sight in many 17th-century Dutch homes, where pet birds were valued — as they are today — for their song, liveliness, and bright plumage. Birds such as canaries or singing finches were first brought over to Europe by Portuguese trading ships. They were splendidly kept in cages often made of fine materials such as ebony and ivory (or their imitations, ebonized wood and bone). Sometimes the cages contained feeding dishes made of blown glass or beautiful ceramic feeding pots or were embellished with tassels hanging from their bases. Although antique cages make poor living accommodations for today’s pet birds, houseplants look great in these delightful relics!