Tray: Hand Painted Bird and Floral Design, Wood Serving Tray, Vintage 1960s

A true one-of-a-kind piece — no pattern, no signature, just an artist's own hand at work, bringing a long-tailed bird and a romantic garden of blooms to life across this wooden tray.

• Maker: Unknown
• Materials: Painted wood
• Dimensions: 19.5" Long x 14" Wide x 2.5" Tall
• Origin: Unknown
• Era: Vintage, 1960s
• Condition: Very Good — wear to the gold trim and edges consistent with age and gentle use, no chips or breaks, no markings or artist signature. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

Look closely and you can still see the artist's original pencil guidelines beneath the paint — a small window into their process, and a good sign this design was hand-drawn rather than pulled from a kit or pattern. The scene is rich with detail: a golden-plumed bird perched, a large white blossom with a blue-ringed center, clusters of coral berries, and trailing vines of small yellow flowers along the scalloped sides. The tray's beige-brown base coat was deliberately brushed with darker streaks to mimic aged, weathered wood — a decorative technique meant to give the piece a timeworn character from the start.

A serving tray meant to be shown off as much as used — lovely for entertaining, or simply displayed upright as a piece of folk art on its own. It also makes a wonderful gift for anyone drawn to one-of-a-kind, hand-painted treasures with real character.

There's a softness to this piece that feels distinctly 1960s — not the bold graphic pop of the era's more famous look, but its quieter, romantic side: gentle color, old-world floral motifs, and a bird taken straight from the decade's fondness for exotic, storybook imagery. Hand-decorated wood trays like this one reflect a mid-century tradition of home tole and decorative painting, when hobbyists and folk artists alike turned plain wooden blanks into personal works of art — freehand, unsigned, and never quite repeated twice.

Browse our shop for more one-of-a-kind hand-painted pieces to round out your collection.