Pair of Whistling Partridge Decoys, probably British

Artist unkown

20th century

Tôle peinte (painted metal sheet)

Both heights: 24 cm

Each of these decoys, with its detailed plumage, has an opening in its throat. A small tube would originally have attached to each of them, with a small rubberised bulb at the end. When squeezed, air would have been pushed through the tube, like a set of bellows, producing a sound similar to the whistling of a partridge.

While such decoys would have been common in the 19^th century, this pair have recently been identified as modern reproductions, and were often offered for sale in Parisian markets in the late 20^th century