A Turkey and other Fowl in a Park
1710
Oil on canvas
Purchased 1985
T04129
This was designed as a piece of decoration. Such pictures were often set into panelling above doors and chimney pieces, and were meant to be seen from below.
Perhaps it is significant that among the birds shown here only the hovering black kite is native to Britain. All the other birds are imported ornamental varieties. Does this apparently decorative painting suggest an expanding world view?