The wings, tail feathers and head of the hawk, which is 18.2cm in height, are detailed in underglaze blue and the rock on which it stands is washed in a lustrous brown. It is a true hawk, with short rounded wings and a broad flat tail and probably originally one of a pair, as the 1688 Burghley Inventory records: “my Lords Dressing Rooms……China over ye Chimney….2blue & wt Birds”. Raptor figurines were extremely popular amongst European porcelain collectors. This one, which is hollow, has the potter’s fingerprints clearly visible inside it.
