FEATHERS GALLERY KNYSNA LIMITED EDITION NO 1514 MALE MADARIN DUCK HAND CRAFTED VINTAGE

A LIMITED EDITION (NO 1514 OF 2000) FEATHERS GALLERY OF KNYSNA MALE MANDARIN DUCK HAND PAINTED AND HAND CRAFTED IN THE 1990S.
 
A FEW PAINT SCRAPES TO HEAD. SMALL CHIP ON SIDE OF TAIL. CHIP ON UNDERSIDE OF BEAK APART FROM THE BEAK LOOKING SHORTER IT IS NOT VISIBLE FROM ABOVE.
 
NOTE I HAVE A FEATHERS KNYSNA GALLERY LIMITED EDITION NO 829 OF 2000 MALE PIED AVOCETALSO ON AUCTION THIS WEEK.
 
FEATHERS OF KNYSNA:
FEATHERS OF KNYSNA WAS RENOWNED FOR IT'S LIMITED EDITION CARVED WOODEN BIRDS.
WHAT MAKES THESE BIRDS UNIQUE IS THAT EACH ONE OF THEM IS HANDMADE FROM THE CARVING TO THE PAINTING.  IN APRIL 2016, THE FEATHERS OF KNYSNA OWNERS RETIRED AND CLOSED THE FACTORY.
These carved wooden birds were from the famous FEATHERS OF KNYSNA GALLERY. The town of Knysna was famous for its many art galleries to include the Feathers Gallery. These Feathers birds were part of a conservation awareness program/campaign aimed at improving the lot for urban and wild birds and a percentage of the price went towards Bird Sanctuary Awareness. At one time Feathers of Knysas birds were sold in galleries in the US, Europe, as well as Africa. These original collectibles have become scarce and hard to find. Each bird is hand carved and painted/stained and are buffed to retain the natural wood luster and bring out the detail in the wood grain. They are limited editions and each bird is numbered.
 
SIZE 27CM LONG 12CM HIGH 10CM WIDE
 
MANDARIN DUCKS:
The mandarin duck is a perching duck species native Korea, Eastern Russia, China, Taiwan, and Japan and widely regarded as the worlds most beautiful duck. It is sexually dimorphic; males showing a dramatic difference from the females. Adult males are striking and unmistakable, with a red bill, a large white crescent above their eyes, and a reddish face with "whiskers". Their breasts are purple with double vertical white bars and their flanks are red and have two orange "sails" in the rear. 
Mandarin ducks are famous for being monogamous, meaning pair bonds may continue for many seasons. Because of this, the creature has become a symbol of love and fidelity for couples in China, Japan, and Korea.
The courtship display of this species is very impressive, including mock drinking and shaking. It is the female who chooses the site for the nest but the male goes with her to find it. Hatching of the kids is just as impressive. The nest is in a hole up to 30 feet off the ground in a tree. The eggs hatch within several hours of each other and when all the ducklings are hatched, their mother calls them from the ground and they crawl out of the hole and jump, to land unhurt on the ground and head to the nearest feeding ground.
The global population is estimated at around 65,000 individuals and declining.The first mandarins were imported to Britain in the mid-18th century, but it wasn't until the 1930s that escapes from wildfowl collections started breeding here. It was long believed that the British population - now close to 8,000 birds - was of international importance, but previously undiscovered populations have been discovered in China, so this duck is far more numerous than was once thought.
 
PLEASE ALSO SEE MY OTHER ITEMS LISTED. I HAVE ANOTHER FEATHERS KNYSNA PIED AVOCET ALSO ON AUCTION THIS WEEK.
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