A few months ago I had the opportunity to purchase a selection of antique and vintage demitasse cups and saucers from a private collection. My choices were primarily English and dated from the mid 19thc. to the early 20thc. Many were in blue transfer printed on white bone china. And many images are of birds: Japanese birds on bamboo, storks, pheasants, and lovely bits of flora that put the birds in a naturalistic setting. There is a superstition that it is bad luck to have birds in the house, which I've heard from several people whose family lore came from middle Europe. Not a problem for the Victorian and Edwardian ceramicists who worked on the designs of my demitasse. Apparently not a problem for 20thc. Soviets, either. One cup from the USSR is decorated with a twee bird.
