{"product_id":"antique-french-bird-cage-handmade-wood-and-wire-folk-art-1","title":"Antique French Folk Art Bird Cage | Handmade Wood \u0026 Wire Cage | Early 20th Century","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe beauty here is in how plainly this little cage was made. Hand-cut wood, old iron wire, simple perches, a sliding wooden feeder and a single little ceramic water cup all come together in the most amazing way. It feels like a true piece of French art populaire: made by hand, made for use, and still carrying the quiet charm of the rural life it came from.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis antique French bird cage likely dates from the late 19th to early 20th century and is consistent with handmade country bird cages from the South of France. It is a little taller than some of the other cages from the same group, which gives it a larger presence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePieces like this were often made by farmers or hunters rather than professional cage makers. It may have held a live call bird, known in French as an appelant, for traditional small-bird hunting, or simply kept a songbird close to the life of the house.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe construction is beautiful. The frame is made from hand-worked wood, with vertical iron wire bars fixed directly into the rails. A perch crosses the interior and the small wooden feeder opens by sliding along the side. There is also one small ceramic cup for water, a simple practical detail that gives the piece so much charm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe door opens from the top, lifting and sliding upward so the bird could be placed inside or released. The surface has aged beautifully, with worn wood, dark oxidized wire and the irregularities you expect from a handmade working object. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt would be wonderful on an open shelf, in a study, on a console, in a garden room, or hanging near a sunny window where the wire and wood can catch the light. It brings that wonderful French farmhouse feeling into a room: old handwork and the memory of a countryside world that has mostly disappeared.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Provence Collection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53672600502615,"sku":"DEC-125","price":575.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/4686\/4215\/files\/rustic-french-folk-art-birdcage-earthenware-feeders-2.jpg?v=1788802636","url":"https:\/\/theprovencecollection.com\/en-us\/products\/antique-french-bird-cage-handmade-wood-and-wire-folk-art-1","provider":"The Provence Collection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}