Farmer Barnaby French Provincial Hare Statue Bird Feeder, Rust Cast Iron 52.5cm

A hare in his working dungarees, holding out a dish for whoever turns up.

Farmer Barnaby is a tall standing hare cast in solid iron and finished in a natural rust patina, both ears straight up, wearing a plain shirt and buttoned dungarees with shoulder straps. He holds a wide shallow dish in both paws in front of his chest, level and open. He weighs 8.6 kg, which is the difference between cast iron and the resin and magnesia pieces that copy this shape. The casting carries the nap of the fur, the buttons and stitching of the dungarees, and the rolled rim of the dish.

The dish is the point of him. Fill it with seed and he is a bird feeder, fill it with water and he is a shallow bird bath, leave it empty and he is simply a very good garden statue. At 52.5cm he stands well above knee height and reads from the other end of a garden.

Why we love it

• ◆The dish, a genuine working tray, deep enough for seed or a shallow drink, cast as one piece with him
• ◆The height, 52.5cm, which puts the dish at a height birds will actually use and cats will not
• ◆The weight, 8.6 kg of solid cast iron, so a magpie landing on the rim does not tip him
• ◆The rust patina, deep amber across the ears and shoulders, russet in the folds of the dungarees, and it only improves outdoors

How to style it

He works hardest where you can see him from inside, because the birds are half the pleasure.

• Stand him in a garden bed within view of a kitchen or living room window
• Set him at the end of a path where the ears break the line of the hedge
• Keep him a metre or so clear of dense shrubs so small birds can see what is coming
• Fill the dish with water in summer and seed through the cold months
• Group him with the rest of our garden sculptures

Care & Keeping

Tip the dish out and rinse it every few days if you are using it for water, the same as any bird bath. Wipe the rest with a soft dry cloth to lift dust out of the fur and the dungaree folds. The rust patina is a finished surface and needs no sealing, and it is safe alongside birds. Keep harsh chemical cleaners and abrasive pads away from him.

Because Farmer Barnaby 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.