Bird seller (one of a pair) 1745

This pair of porcelain figurines, "Bird Seller" by the Meissen Manufactory, was created in 1745 and is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The figures, a man and a woman, depict a common street scene, the man offering birds for sale from a large cage while the woman holds a smaller cage with a single bird. The figures’ lively poses and detailed clothing give a sense of realism to this charming snapshot of 18th-century European life.