Ancient Mystery Chicken

[stoneunhenged]

I was recently at the Tate Gallery in London and saw an interesting 300-year-old painting. Note the chickens. Very beautiful, and if you look carefully at the crested rooster you can see some cuckoo barring on its sickle feathers. Any guess on the breed(s) it might represent or later become?

I knew I had to snap a few pics for BYC.

 

[josh44]

From the white crest I am guessing it was probably a polish cross.

If you find out what it is PM me

I Like reading & looking at old poultry articles & paintings

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Especially enjoy reading about crested breeds, I've worked & exhibited polish & other crested breeds for several yrs & still can't get enough

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[josh44]

I personally just by looking at the painting , I think it might have been a cross between a White Crested Black Polish & a Gamefowl.

The Games were just as popular back then as they are today

 

[centrarchid]

Did Polish chickens exist 300 years ago? I thought majority of existing breeds no more than a couple hundred years old.

Also, I would not call birds of that time period ancient. That term should be reserved for much older times.

 

[josh44]

Yes they were around back then, Polish are a very old breed

 

[phasianidae]

Interesting painting, the rooster also clearly has a V comb. ETA: Just noticed the ducks have crests also.

 

[phasianidae]

Is the chicken hen really an "ornamental variety" though?

 

[v.cyr]

"Old Polish" perhaps?... my aunt used to have a few of these, and one of the roosters looked like the one in the painting... and I agree, the claim of them all being "imported ornamentals" seems to imply that they overlooked the hen... Orpington??

 

[phasianidae]

v.cyr :

"Old Polish" perhaps?... my aunt used to have a few of these, and one of the roosters looked like the one in the painting... and I agree, the claim of them all being "imported ornamentals" seems to imply that they overlooked the hen... Orpington??

It coundnt be an Orpington as they were not developed until 1886.​

 

[v.cyr]

Quote:
It coundnt be an Orpington as they were not developed until 1886.

i didn't know that... thanks...