Historical-when did cockatoos first come to Europe?

[Tiki]

There is a very interesting pic in the photo album, I am wondering if it is historically possible. I am GUESSING that the clothing is Rennaissace period, yet the lady is holding what looks like a Sulpher Crested Cockatoo from Australia. http://www.birdboard.com/album/showphoto.php?photo=3240

Australia wasn't discovered until 1769 by Capt James Cook. So how could a cockatoo be there in the 1400-1500's? Just curious! It is still a nice painting (photo of painting).

[yehudasf]

BS"D

According to this:

Although parrots have been kept as pets for more than two thousand years, it was not until the fifteenth century that sea trade between Europe and the East Indies started, and with that, the importation of the first cockatoo.

Found at this URL: LINK LINK LINK

I am not certain that this is totally veracious, but it is an assertion that bears some investigation.

[Franciscus]

Perhaps it's one of the Indonesian cockatoos, a lesser sulphur crested maybe? I don't know when Indonesia was "discovered" by the Europeans but it's definitely closer to Asia and therefore Europe. The cockatoo in the painting does look rather large, like a greater sulpur crested, though.

[birdyland]

Well, it's possible that the bird didn't take a direct route.....

[Tiki]

Well I found this on Google about the spice islands...........but that is definitely not an M2 in the pic. That's what is puzzling me, it looks like an Aussie SC2 and no one was trading with Australia back then. This could be a fun bit of detective work trying to see if this painting is historically accurate!

Moluccas (məlŭk'əz, mō–) or Spice Islands, Bahasa Indonesia Maluku, Du. Molukken, island group and prov. (1990 pop. 1,856,075), c.32,300 sq mi (83,660 sq km), E Indonesia, between Sulawesi and New Guinea. The capital of the province is Ambon, on Ambon island. The group's many islands include Halmahera (the largest), Seram, Buru, Ambon, Ternate, and Tidore and the Aru and Kai island groups. Of volcanic origin, the Moluccas are mountainous, fertile, and humid. They are the original home of nutmeg and cloves. Other spices, copra, and forest products are also produced. Sago is the staple food.
The islands were visited by the Portuguese in c.1512 and thereafter colonized by them; they established a trading center at Ternate. In the 17th cent. they were taken by the Dutch, who secured a monopoly in the clove trade. Twice the British gained a foothold in the islands, which passed definitively to the Dutch in the first quarter of the 19th cent. The islands have been the scene of Muslim-Christian violence in recent years.

[Franciscus]

Tiki, I think the 'too depicted is probably a lesser sulphur crested as I thought they were the ones with a yellow tint to their cheeks. The bird looks large but the girl is probably still young and it just looks large in relation to her. lessers are found in Indonesia, formerly the Spice Islands.

[Miro The Macaw]

Originally Posted by Tiki

I am GUESSING that the clothing is Rennaissace period, yet the lady is holding what looks like a Sulpher Crested Cockatoo from Australia.

I cant speak for the authenticity of the bird depicted in the painting, but I know a thing or two about paintings.

My first thought was that this painting isn't renisance in style- It is later- And most probably a contemporary repro ... There are a number of giveaways that it is later, although the costume, etc, are period, the painting is not... So, The 'Authenticity' of the species in the picture probably isn't 100%- It is just a pretty white bird that the artist could fit in the painting.

As it turns out, this is a painting by James Pawley, a contemporary (read: Modern day) repro... The image probably has no historical significance at all... Just a pretty picture.

[Tiki]

Thanks, Andrew! That is an interesting perspective-I was wondering if it were a reproduction of a painting or just someone's imagination.

Frank, if it is a LSC2, then it could conceivably have gotten to Europe, the house in the painting looks like it belongs to rich people and only rich people could afford a fancy bird like that back then.

[Miro The Macaw]

Originally Posted by Tiki

Frank, if it is a LSC2, then it could conceivably have gotten to Europe, the house in the painting looks like it belongs to rich people and only rich people could afford a fancy bird like that back then.

Of course, Cook "discovered" Australia in 1769, But it isn't like he was the first one there... A bird could possibly have made it out and to europe via an alternate route... Keep in mind the eastern silk trade was strong then.

Perhaps of interest- I don't know my birds- But is this the same kind of Cockatoo? This is a (C) 1690 English painting by Michael Dahl, a rather noted british portrait artist. I know that these birds were a HUGE status symbol to the elite of Europe at this time, as they were for many cultures before them...

-Andrew

[Monica]

This image appears to be a lesser sulpher crested too...



This is a moluccan cockatoo.... (note salmon crest)