Fall Fowl for the Thanksgiving Table
Along with the age-old Thanksgiving traditions comes the fanciest table settings, including the seasonal motifs of game birds, waterfowl and, naturally, turkeys. You can adorn a fall table with seasonal colors via pheasants, squab and turkeys printed onto soup bowls, tureens, platters and more.
Beyond the inherent magic of conquering the air, such birds carry with them a gorgeous fall color palette. Our fair-feathered friends – a squab here, a turkey there – majestically capture the season’s rich tones of rust, mustard, olive green and navy.
TRADITIONAL TURKEY
Consider the traditional beauty of this turkey platter with a fruit border ($38; Booth B-218). This brown transferware platter made of sturdy ironstone features a hand-colored turkey in the center and a rim trimmed in fruit and vegetables. The large size – 19 inches by 14.5 inches – makes it the ideal platter for serving turkey or hen. And the colors are incredibly vibrant. Sometimes, hand-tinted transferware is finished with minimal hand-tinting, as if the artist was in a rush. But this is a highly finished piece.
TURKEY CHILI
Are you making white-lightning turkey chili with your Thanksgiving leftovers? Then pour some into this Johnson Brothers Windsor Ware soup bowl, one of a pair, that comes in the highly collectible dinnerware pattern called Native American Wild Turkeys ($28.50; Booth B-218). (Windsor Ware is a trade name used on wares made exclusively for the now-defunct Fisher, Bruce & Company, an importer established on Market Street, Philadelphia, in 1880.) The colors are vibrant, and the glaze is just like new.
PHEASANT PAIR
If turkeys are not to your taste, may we suggest another sort of bird? This Johnson Brothers of England plate features two fabulous fowl – a male and female pheasant who calmly peruse a wooded glade ($28.50; Booth B-218). This vibrantly colored ceramic transferware plate was produced in the Pheasant pattern from the Game Birds line by Johnson Brothers. It could look beautiful as wall art or join the Thanksgiving table as a serving piece.
COCK-O-CLOCK
If you want to get utterly clucky about your avian collection, look no further than this charming rooster alarm clock painted by longtime Nashville artist David Wariner ($425; Booth B-162). The glossy oil brushstrokes in tones of rust, mustard, olive green and ink blue perfectly capture fall’s palette. (A multimedia artist, Wariner also photographs for GasLamp’s website and advertising.)