Rare Scottish ‘Parrot’ Coal Statue of Boy holding Lamb, 19th century

A very rare Scottish statue of a boy with lamb carved from coal. Parrot coal, or cannel, was mined largely for industrial use in the Wemyss area and was given its name because of the crackling and chattering sound it makes in burning.

Parrot coal furniture was made by West Wemyss stonemason Thomas Williamson (1817-60) for Wemyss Castle in 1855 (now in Kirkcaldy Museum) and for the Fife Coal Company offices in Leven. A garden seat exhibited at the Great Exhibition in 1851, now sits in the grounds of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Figural pieces of the 18th and 19th century are rare.

Parrot coal models by Kirkcaldy railway worker, William Grieve (who made parrot coal statues of Sir William Wallace, Sir Walter Scott and Oliver Goldsmith) were exhibited at Largo Museum when it opened in 1879.