Tom Tit & Jenny Wren French Provincial Crowned Bird Statues, Rust Cast Iron Set of Two

Two little birds in crowns, standing on their own pedestals, taking themselves very seriously.

Tom Tit and Jenny Wren come as a pair and are cast in solid iron, finished in a natural rust patina. Each bird wears a small crown and perches on a turned pedestal with a leaf-moulded foot, cast as one piece rather than assembled. Tom Tit stands 17cm with the taller crown, Jenny Wren 15cm. Together they weigh 1.2 kg, which is what separates them from the resin birds sold at the same size.

They are small enough to sit in one hand and formal enough to hold a mantelpiece. They are built for outdoor life: the iron keeps them upright, and the rust patina is a finish rather than a fault, so weather deepens them instead of wearing them out.

Why we love it

• ◆They come as a pair, two different castings at two different heights, so they read as a couple rather than a matching set
• ◆The crowns, tiny, properly modelled, and the reason these are not just another pair of garden birds
• ◆The pedestals, turned stems on leaf-moulded feet, cast in one piece with each bird
• ◆The rust patina, warm amber across the feathering, darker in the moulding of the feet, and it only improves outdoors

How to style it

They stand on their own pedestals, so they belong on a flat surface rather than tucked into planting.

• Stand them at either end of a mantelpiece or a hall console
• Put them on a garden wall cap where the pedestals read against stone
• Set them on a windowsill facing into the room rather than out
• Give them a shelf with books and nothing else
• Group them with the rest of our garden sculptures

Care & Keeping

Wipe with a soft dry cloth to lift dust out of the feathering and the moulding of the feet. The rust patina is a finished surface and needs no sealing. Place a felt pad underneath on pale stone or painted timber, and keep harsh chemical cleaners and abrasive pads away from them.

Because Tom Tit and Jenny Wren is hand-finished, slight variations in patina, texture, and grain are natural and add to the unique character of each piece. Colour may also vary slightly between screens, all photography is taken in natural light.