I chanced on an entertaining and informative article by Fred Taylor in Auction Central News. It traces the human interest in animals and our use of animal imagery in art and ultimately in furniture.
You may not know this, but Egyptian furniture from as far back as 3,000 years ago has been found with legs that end in lion paws. The design of Egyptian beds was unchanged for 2,000 years. The beds typically had the legs of animals, from bulls to gazelles to cats. The Assyrians, Greeks and Romans likewise carved animal imagery into their furniture.
The practice largely disappeared, Fred tells us, until Thomas Chippendale in the 18th century, with his mix of French Rococo and Orientalia, brought it back. Thereafter, and throughout the 19th century, as Fred puts it, “the barn door was open.”
Fred treats us to a gallery, or shall I say menagerie, of photos of 18th and 19th century pieces, with a number of shots of antique Victorian furniture. Keep your eye out for the sideboard that celebrates the elements of the Victorian table.