A birdcage in the shape of the Rialto bridge in Venice, with two slanting rectangular sides meeting at a square door with a semicircular arch and triangular roof in the center. The birdcage has a wooden frame painted in olive green, and intricate wire scrollwork, employing the repeating shapes of hearts and fleur-de-lis, along the sides, door and top. Each side has four wooden arches, whose curved forms are mimicked along the top of the cage. There is a hinged panel at either end on the bottom of the cage for the removal of trays, although the trays themselves are missing.

This object is currently on display in room 113 as part of Hewitt Sisters Collect. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.

See more objects with the tag architecture, decoration, home, exhibition, bridges, vista, colonnade, birds, scrolls, stairs, birdkeepers, hobbyists, cages, leisure, decorative, walkway, miniature, Rialto Bridge, doors.

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Object Timeline

1915	Work on this object ended.
1916	We acquired this object.
2005	We photographed this object.
2013	This was an Object of the Day.
2014	We exhibited this object.
2022	You found it!

Birdcage in the Form of the Rialto Bridge Birdcage, late 19th–early 20th century

This is a birdcage. It is dated late 19th–early 20th century and we acquired it in 1916. Its medium is painted wood, bent metal wire, metal. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

When the Hewitt sisters travelled to Europe in pursuit of objects for the museum they were creating (see photo of Sarah, Eleanor, and Amy Hewitt in a Venetian gondola), they collected items that, today, might not seem immediately relevant to a design museum—like birdcages. The European-focused Hewitt sisters acquired birdcages in various media, such as ceramics and glass. Others represent specific architecture from various locations.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled An exuberant birdcage.

This object was donated by Eleanor Garnier Hewitt and Sarah Cooper Hewitt. It is credited Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt.

Drawing, View of the Pulpit, Saint Sulpice, Paris (Second Project)

Drawing, View of the Pulpit, Saint Sulpice, Paris (Second Project)
pen and black ink, brush and watercolor, black chalk on white laid paper .
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council.
1911-28-293

Poster, 65 Bridges of New York
photo-offset lithograph and screenprint on paper .
Gift of Sara and Marc Benda.
2009-20-50

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 47.6 x 85.7 x 35.6 cm (18 3/4 x 33 3/4 x 14 in.)

Cite this object as

Birdcage in the Form of the Rialto Bridge Birdcage, late 19th–early 20th century; Previously owned by Alexander Wilson Drake (American, 1843-1916); Italy; painted wood, bent metal wire, metal; H x W x D: 47.6 x 85.7 x 35.6 cm (18 3/4 x 33 3/4 x 14 in.); Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt; 1916-19-14

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Hewitt Sisters Collect.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2Bdnp/
Accession Number 1916-19-14
Object ID 18187025