EARLY 20TH CENTURY

This pedestal would have originally formed the base for a bird bath. Alistair Morris, Antiques from the Garden, Antique Collectors' Club, 1996, p.46 illustrats a complete example and discusses how at one point the manufacturers advised purchasers that birdbaths made in grey terracotta, such as the present lot, might break up in frosty weather and therefore suggested they be emptied at such times.
A similar example sold Christie's, Sydney, The John Schaeffer Collection at Rona, 15-16 May 2004, lot 595, A$6,573 inc.