Other works by Donnaware Pottery include:-
Candle snuffers
Bonsai pottery
Sculpture
Slip casting
Cast Iron Gravestones
Thrown work
China Painting
Creations for Trophies
Bespoke designs Commissions welcome
"Sing a Song
of Sixpence, a pocket full of rye... Four and twenty Pie Birds, baked in a Pie.
What is a piebird anyway?
Pie Birds or Pie Funnels as they are
called in England are "steam vents" that have been placed in the center of fruit
and meat pies (while cooking) since Victorian Times.
Pie Funnels were used in baking pies and prevent the pie from boiling over in the oven
by allowing the steam created when the fruit filling or other contents are cooking to
escape from inside the pie. They also supported the pastry crust in the center of the pie,
so that it did not sag in the middle.They are made from ceramic. Apparently many
celebrities including Princess Diana, Ronald & Nancy Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, George
& Barbara Bush, have owned or collected Pie Birds! Now you too can build up a
Enchanting Collection of authentic (made in England) Pie Birds and Vents, continuing a
tradition that began in the English Countryside! Traditionally they were nearly always in
the shape of a bird or an inverted funnel with arches on the bottom for the steam to
enter, now in modern times they have been produced in a multitude of shapes. Displayed in
your home, they will be a true "conversation piece", as gifts they will be
treasured and will continually increase in value!
The perfect gift for that "someone that has everything - friend or
relative". A sound investment.
Line the pie dish with pastry, place the "bird" in the centre, put in the
filling around the "pie bird" then put a pastry top on but allowing the pie bird
to stick out of a hole in the pastry . Pinch crust around the bird's shoulder, allowing
the head to stick through the pastry. The bird will release steam through his mouth
"vent" during baking and help to prevent fruit juices from bubbling over into
the oven .easy as pie!!
No pie funnel? No matter. Make decorative holes in the top crust and
insert several pieces of macaroni. These mini "chimneys" allow steam to escape
and keep the pie juices from boiling over. or.....
Traditionally, the earliest Pie Funnels were
glass and earthenware products, some of Dutch origin plain and unadorned. In the
nineteenth century, prominent local tradesmen, Butchers and Bakers would use earthenware
pie dishes with their name or company imprinted by a "Decal" or "Transfer
for promotional purposes, along with "Pie Funnels" as we in England call them.
"Pie Funnels" or "Pie Birds" or
"Pie Vents" are collected today In Great Britain, mainly in the wider content of
"Kitchen Collectibles" not usually or seriously in their own right.
However, this does not reflect the situation
in America / Canada areas where "Pie Birds" have historically satisfied a market
for dual purpose functional / decorative collectibles.
Increasingly the decorative, handmade
element in their manufacturer has, and will continue to be the deciding factor in the
desirability and collectibility of modern "Pie Birds." the original
creator of all the "Pie Birds" on this site have been making originals and
reproducing them since 1990. Still today there are more designs being added to the
Collectible Series.
My "Potty Pie Birds" sold world
wide to avid collectors are becoming increasingly highly sought after. A sound investment
The 1990 original shaped
Geoff, tall dark and handsome. He is seen here with a couple sent to me as samples
(middle) and two 1990 Black Mammas.
Are you a Collector of Pie
Funnels?
Yes? well . here you will find all the information you need, from the history of
Pie Funnels to 'up to date' new designs being made today. .
As
he is today. a little shorter and wiser!
"Geoff the Chef" ...was first produced in 1990 as an entirely
different shape . He began very tall and thin with a slight stoop, I have included a
picture of him above. He was made whilst I still lived with my late Mother God bless her.
I know she will still be watching me.
Over the years "Geoff" has always kept his popularity with
"collectors" and is still a most popular piece. He has had a "clean
outfit" on from time to time having spilt "gravy"or "fruit juice"
down himself from time to time.!
He has three pairs of trousers, black pin striped, pink pin striped and a light blue pin
striped pair. He owns a sturdy pair of black shiny shoes but has also worn a polished
brown tan pair The necker, worn to cover his "double chin" is usually either red
coloured or pale blue depending what matches his trousers This necker or necktie is always
tied neatly in a big knot with tails flowing.
Geoff always carries a steaming hot pie, the crusty edges pressed with his own massive
fingers to form a lovely pattern all around the crusty top, You may notice his worried
look sometimes , eye brows raised and fingers crossed behind his back.Another satisfied
customer?....he hopes so.! But ......sometimes "Geoff " is so busy that he forgets and tends to
over cook his pies, sadly he ends up with more than just burnt fingers!
Well first I began to put my name on them "Donnaware" or Donna stamped on perhaps
a few written on in pigment and fired of course. But the chap did n't like the idea of
that. I kept insisting that I wanted to be recognised and he replied saying no. So I just
used the GT.BRITAIN or just BRITAIN. There are a few out there with Don
discreetly hidden inside!
I have some of the original hand drawn sketches of
the designs from 1990 that I have put here see original sketch link.
For the purposes of attribution here is a little "potted" history of my
"Pie Funnels" (as we in England call them.) that I have been making since 1991.
The very first was Geoff the Chef "Black Mamma" next along
with "White Mamma" and "PC Plod the Policeman". These were first sent
out to a man in Devon England March 10th 1991
In 1992 the first Black Chefs, Rabbits and others were introduced, more
were to follow over the years until the last design to him was the Golly with outstretched
arms in 1998 and Chubby Teddy with bowl of Porridge and spoon.. I was still
supplying all of these designs to a chap Devon, England until March 2000 .....In
October 2001 year I recieved an unexpected e.mail from an American lady .....looking
for me for almost 10 years hence this site.
The rest is history, from now on
my Pie Birds are only available ...Here!...direct from the maker.
Four and Twenty Black Birds Baked in a Pie
Pie Birds Blow Steam So You Don’t Have to.
Tired of having a gooey mess on the bottom of your oven after baking a pie?
So were people in England way back in the early 19th century. In fact, they were so sick
of it that they developed the pie bird. Also known as a pie vent, pie funnel or pie
chimney, the pie bird is a hollow, glazed ceramic figure with one hole in the side of its
base and a smaller one at the top to allow steam to get out. Just put one on the bottom
crust of your pie, pour in the filling and then put the top crust over it, allowing the
"head" to poke out the top. The heat of the filling escapes through the pie bird
and your oven stays clean.
Although they’re terrifically useful things to have around, the real joy of these
little guys is their beauty. A golden-crusted cherry pie is lovely, but one with a pretty
pie bird / figure gracing the middle of it is even better!. The most common pie bird is
(naturally) a blackbird with its head stretched up to the sky, whistling away the heat
from the baking pie’s juices. Also seen today though, are the dragons, horses,
pigs, owls, elephants and other unusual varieties.
Most of the pie birds available today are new ones being reintroduced, the originals
were made in the ‘40s and ‘50s, but you can occasionally find one from the turn
of the century, often valued at more than $150.
A large collection of Pie Birds
Even the ‘50s pie birds can bring high prices. The 97¢ version of "Benny the
Baker," produced by Cardinal China Co. of Cateret, NJ, is now valued at $60 or more
in mint condition. This, despite the fact that the steam comes out of his nostrils! The
‘50s Black Chef wearing a white chef’s hat, with a white spoon and a yellow,
green, or blue smock, is valued at around $150. Watch out for replicas where the spoon is
round with glaze crazes. Repros usually have a small vent, so look carefully at the vent
holes and make sure they’re about the diameter of a pencil.
A couple of the pie birds are almost mythical. Pillsbury denies making pie birds, but
collectors swear that they’ve actually touched them. Disney claims no record of a
Donald Duck pie bird, but there are reported sightings of it. In fact, some in Australia
claim to have manufactured it and list its value at a whopping $1,100! There are
a lot of small ceramic figurines listed as pie birds that have no way to vent
steam, so keep your eyes peeled and always look carefully at the item or the description.
And next time you bake a pie; it will come out perfect, thanks to your trusty vintage pie
bird.
'Sing a song of sixpence
A pocket full of rye
Four-and-twenty Blackbirds baked in a pie
And when the pie was opened
The birds begin to sing
Was'nt thas a dainty dish to set before the King'
What sensational sibilance the phrase, 'Sing a Song of Sixpence', is. But more than the
way it sounds, it's the hidden history which the rhyme alludes to, with all its little
interpretations, that make it such a fascinating piece. Take for instance the notion of,
'Four and twenty Blackbirds baked in a pie'. Back in days of old, little clay whistles
were baked into the pastry on the top of pies. These whistles were shaped like the heads
of blackbirds with the beak wide open. The theory was, and this does actually work, that
when the pie was cut, and the crust was broken, the cold air outside would meet the hot
contents inside creating lots of steam. The steam would then rise up through the whistles,
making the 'birds' heads' indeed appear to sing.
And if you imagine 24 birds' heads, you can imagine the size of the pie - fit enough,
indeed, for the king's table.
Alternative Interpretations
Another theory suggests that Blackbirds were considered a culinary delicacy and so they
were fit for royal consumption, therefore we have the line, 'Isn't this a dainty dish to
set before the King' Although, on reflection, the pie couldn't have been cooked for very
long if the birds were still able to sing. All of a sudden the dish seems somehow less
dainty.
There's also reputed to be extra lines we can jemmy in to the whole thing. For instance:
The King was in his counting-house
Counting lots of money
The Queen was in the garden
Eating bread and honey
The maid was in the garden
Hanging out the clothes
When down came a blackbird
And pecked off her nose
Maybe these lines exist only to give the illusion of time passing by, a sort of 'while
away the minutes' pre-curser to the denouement of actual pie eating. But we can't really
be sure. What we can know is that the Queen had a rather developed sense of appetite as
we're told she's eating bread and honey, not caring a jot that supper's almost ready. But
what's the poem actually about? There's a theory that it's about Henry VIII and his six
wives, and that the maid hanging out the washing in the garden is Anne Boleyn, blissfully
unaware of her fate, that one day she would be beheaded.
More specifically, the rhyme might relate to the dissolution of the monasteries during the
reign of Henry VIII. The story goes that King Henry had the deeds of 24 monasteries (the
blackbirds) concealed in a pie which was sent to a friend of his in the south west of
England by means of a messenger. The messenger, Jack Horner, opened the pie and stole the
valuable contents. Apparently the property remained in the Horner family for generations.
A Researcher's kind-hearted auntie once created a pleasant addendum that softened the blow
of the traditional ending - that of the Hitchcock-esque blackbird biting off the nose of a
young girl. She used to finish her rendition thus:
She made such a commotion
That little Jenny Wren
Flew down from her tree
And stuck it on again
Ahhh... pity the same can't be said of Anne Boleyn.
Pie birds were once little kitchen gadgets, rarely costing much over $5. But in the past
10 to 15 years, collecting has reached such proportions that many new birds are on the
market, not necessarily masquerading as the old ones, but as collectibles in their own
right.
More serious collectors, as usual, prefer genuinely old ones. I prefer things that have
actually been used for their created purpose, although it is nice if the early owners took
good care of them.
English pie birds generally are preferred, although some collectors specialize in certain
makers.
Although prices can be in the hundreds for rare "birds," most are in the $55 to
$75 range. Funnels with pictures painted on them are in the low end of that range, while
plain white funnels are about $45. Order yours today
regularly
Pie Birds or Pie Funnels as they are
called in England are "steam vents" that have been placed in the center of fruit
and meat pies (while cooking) since Victorian Times. 
The 1990 original shaped
Geoff, tall dark and handsome. He is seen here with a couple sent to me as samples
(middle) and two 1990 Black Mammas.
As
he is today. a little shorter and wiser!