The Gourmet Pie Cup, (or pie funnel etc) c1900

This pottery pie funnel c1900 with the rather pretentious name of  'The Gourmet Pie Cup' was made in England, it has a registration number and is patented. Pie funnels were also called pie ventilators, pie crust supports, pie preservers, pie cups, and pie birds (American). They were designed to stop pie juices oozing onto the floor of the oven, spilling onto the pastry, or to stop the pastry sagging. From c1880 every household would have had one or several pie funnels.  Prior to this date households would have had to use egg cups  pieces of bone or macaroni etc.  As well as pottery,  pie funnels were  made of glass, aluminium, and plastic, and sometimes made in the form of birds, elephants etc.