A RARE MODEL OF A JAY BIRD

This Chinese model is derived from Meissen porcelain, with a similar figure by Kaendler depicting a jay looking at a beetle. However, it was probably made from a drawing rather than a porcelain original. The bird has a 'corvid' appearance and is probably based on the Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandrius) first described by Linnaeus in 1758, familiar to both East and West.