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I suspect it is a pie bird. Pie birds are placed in the center of a pies that have solid top crusts and release steam so as to prevent the top crust from blowing up like a balloon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie_bird

I've seen plenty of pie birds, but none with a dish attached! I hope someone can solve this mystery. :)

I have to say I really doubt its a piebird. its too big and the cup would make it unwieldy. I dont know if it was meant for this, but it looks like it would be nice bowl for dip or something. you could even put some veggies on the saucer.

I'm pretty sure this is chinese, and is something that gets gifted to the bride and groom- it's designed so the the bird's beak overflows with whatever liquid you fill in the cup- something to do with blessing the newlyweds with an overflow of joy and such...

it reminds me of a two tiered candy bowl that my great aunt owned but it was done in depression glass... perhaps it's merely decorative?

okay... this is gonna sound odd, cause I dont know the name of the gag...or even why it was invented... but behind me on my bookcase is a similar object without the bird head but similar design. Its a water bowl gag. You can fill the cup with water to a designated line... and the water pressure will keep the water in... however... if you fill it past that... pressure change and all of the water goes out the bottom hole.. essentially drenching the holder of the "mug"

there may be a small hole on the neck of the bird at the base... if so...slowly fill the mug and see if the water stays in...

re-read description... yup... sounds like thats what ya got.

maybe it is a souffle bird. i invented that but it seems possible.

maybe it is a fat separator? so broth would flow to the bottom and fat sit on top?
i don't know but i am obsessed with this dish now.

So great to see this has made it to The Kitchn!

It doesn't seem to be a pie bird because of the two separate sections.

The Chinese bridal gift also doesn't seem likely given that there is no way the bird beak can fill up.

It doesn't seem to be the "water gag bowl" thing that madhypnotist suggested. I tried filling it as described (though there is no designated line) and the water just flows directly through the hole at the base of the bird neck and into the tray part.

The only guess I have that seems most logical is that it's an egg separator. Crack the egg on the chicken head and let the whites flow to the base of the tray part? (seems like a gross thing to have to clean though)

More info: the entire piece from the base to the top of the bird head is about 5.5 inches. The widest part of the tray is 4.5 inches, and the cup is 3.5 inches across. It's actually pretty small - smaller than the photos suggest.

I recently bought something that looks similar. It's a juicer. The middle part is an owl, and the liquids drain into a hole into the reservoir below. It then has a spout that I can use to drain the liquids.

I don't know if that's what your bird/cup thing is, but I thought maybe it could be.

My brother brought me a cup like this and a teapot from China. It's for tea- and it does have some tricky water-flow mechanisms that make it look like magic. :)

That would have been my other guess--that it's for tea. It seems like something that would be used for steeping and then allowing the water to flow through. Although, I wonder how you block the straining mechanism in order to allow the tea to steep long enough.

I've seen one like that (also for hot water for tea) from China, except it's a little boy peeing. If you fill it with hot water, it pees. Otherwise, I think it just holds water.

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That looks very much (the system, I mean!) like the italian coffee makers - water in the lower part, coffee in the middle filter part, an initially empty upper part, all connected with a whole and a "vertical" tunnel. Put it on the heat source, the water, as it heats, goes up, through the coffee and "spits" into the upper part, where you end up having your brewed coffee, without the ground coffee in it.
So this maybe works for coffee or tea leaves, that you put into the lower part with water, then onto a candle-stove (ceramic needs gentle heat, I guess) and then the hen spits the brewed tea/coffee into the upper cup?????

I don't know what it is, but I WANT one, LOL!! I love that green tea look...

I know EXACTLY what this is. It is a teacup!! My Dad goes to China often and was gifted with a set. The cup he has is exactly the same except with a dragon head. The idea is that, it keeps you from being greedy. The cup is a simple trick, it works like a siphon, if you pour the tea too high, the water drains out of the bottom.

His also has a tea kettle that you pour the water into the bottom so there is no lid on top. I'm not sure how you clean it, but it is a beautiful and interesting set.