Is it only ornamental? And why are they usually webbed feet (or at least they are in my experience)?
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Also because SURVIVING antique stuff is still here because it is fancy and well made.
Plenty of cheap shit was made at the same time and long ago burned in the trash pile.
With all 4.5 children inhaling the lead paint fumes wafting off of it, or something like that. Ahh, the old days.
What else would they do, hands? That would be silly.
They are the children of Baba Yaga’s house.
Fables vibes
Iirc, the design goes back a few hundred years or so, and they were intended as either lion claws or dragon claws, wrapped around an orb.
Incidentally, you’ll also find pineapples are commonly found carved in older furniture. Pineapples were considered a symbol of hospitality. Again, as I recall, because it’s been a while since I learned about this stuff.
Pineapple’s in northern Europe were a symbol of wealth and status. You could actually rent a pineapple for your dinner party to elevate your status. Pineapple theft was a notable crime. One thief was sentenced to 7 years in an Australian penal colony.
https://historyfacts.com/world-history/fact/stealing-pineapples-used-to-be-a-serious-crime/
Cause it’s freakin cool
Cuz looks cool
People used to take pride in their work, and there was a time when consumers valued quality over price point.
You’re never going to walk into a charity shop and find a 100 year old chipboard IKEA wardrobe. Shit is literally made to fall apart and have to be re-bought.
The average worker wasn’t buying a table with carved feet 100 years ago. You’re experiencing survivorship bias.
I don’t know. IKEA makes some great shit. They’re not the problem imo, Wayfair and other crap is far worse
It totally depends what you buy. IKEA definitely does sell crap, so does every other furniture chain store, but not everything is crap. Really depends on what you look at specifically.
Because craftsmen used to make things by hand and real care could be put into their creations. The better question is why we don’t do this stuff anymore, to which the answer is, as always, capitalism.
Because it hurts less when you hit your foot against it when going to the toilet during the night
Because it looks awesome, and they can.
Because look at those cute little footsies
They used to walk before we lost our imaginations to capitalism
Looser than what?
Leo’s girlfriend.
who’s the guy with the douchebaggy dark shirt
Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt or Quentin Tarantino?
Yes.
80% certain that’s Quentin Tarantino, or were you talking about Brad Pitt? Actually, I now see that they are all wearing black shirts, so maybe you’re talking about Leonardo DiCaprio?
Given the trash that passes for furniture these days I expect that in 50 years or so people will still be hunting for stuff from the early 1900s or earlier to put into their place.
Maybe the supply of old furniture will dry up, and demand would rise enough to make actual quality furniture feasible again
Possibly. They’ll still be baking with the same chunky mixers, though.
This has already happened to a degree. You might have seen a log cabin but probably never a sod house. Probably not so many crank-powered tools either.
It’s known that the more wealth you acquire, the stronger your foot fetish becomes.
It’s known.
Not a problem, just cast yourself in a movie if you have the urge to suck toes (or say the n word).
My n Tarantino
As for why webbed, because it was easier than carving the toes out completely, and probably more stable.
I agree that stability, durability and ease of manufacture were the likely reasons.They probably weren’t intended to be seen as webbed feet though. More likely they’re meant to depict taloned claws clutching a sphere.
