I was squeezing myself through some narrow aisles at an auction house over the weekend, searching for unusual pieces of furniture to aim my focus. I wasn’t having much luck. Everything looked so ordinary until I was headed out of one of the aisles.
There sitting atop another table at my eye level were the legs of a small two-tier table. They were in the shape and color of a stylized black swan with a brass head and feet that looked more lion than bird. It was an odd combination that actually worked (I suppose that webbed feet wouldn’t have been sturdy enough).
Stopping to take them in, I realized that I had been looking at the whole of the furniture laid out on the auction house floor and ignoring the details. The details – as in the legs and feet of the table before me – made each piece different.
As I stood there, I wondered about the uniqueness of legs and feet of other furniture in the room and set off to explore. Most, I found, were mounted on legs with claw and ball feet, a style that I had seen often on antique furniture.
Here’s a sampling of what I found. These feet all have a name, and represent various furniture periods and uses.
The feet on this swan appeared to be monopodium, resembling animal feet, especially a lion’s. They can be found on Empire, Regency and Greek Revival furniture.
These legs looked to be Louis XV.
These were associated with Chinese furniture.
These cabriolet legs ended in claw and ball feet. They can be found on Queen Anne and Chippendale furniture.
This style looked like the legs on some Louis XV furniture.
Another set of monopodium feet.
And another.
The scroll feet on the table in the center were associated with Louis XV and Chippendale furniture. The onion foot on the right originated as German and Dutch styles, and were used on heavy furniture.
