Benches with ballerina & cow-shaped legs
I always wander among the furniture at auction houses because I never know what will catch my eye. Along with the heavy antique pieces are usually items that don’t fit into any space and defy my imagination.
Like the free-form wooden chair that looked like a rabbit. Or the Louis XV style toilet chairs.
I was prowling the floors of one auction house recently, down one aisle and then another, when I came upon a bench that stopped me in my tracks.

Two ballerina-legged benches ready to be auctioned.
It had sky-blue suede-like upholstery and its legs and feet were carved like those of a woman wearing maroon ballerina shoes and a blue bow tied at the knee. How utterly … different, I thought. There were two of them, and I figured they were novelty benches meant to be a conversation piece. I didn’t think to turn them over to look for a maker’s name but they looked rather artistic.
The light-colored seats were still clean, so I assumed that not much sitting had been done on them for fear of shattering the delicate legs. The benches were set up on a table among the antique furniture, perhaps to ensure that the curious didn’t feel obliged to take a seat.

A close-up view of the ballerina-legged bench.
As I stood there looking at them, the benches grew on me and I decided that I actually liked them (but would never buy them). I found a chair with similar legs on the web. It was called an en pointe chair and was said to be an apparent favorite of a famed French interior designer and antiques dealer named Madeleine Castaing. Such a chair – which was said to have come from a brothel – can be seen in a photo of a bathroom in Castaing’s home taken from a book about her.
Finished with the bench, I went off to find other interesting furniture in the place. I didn’t have to look long, for I found a piece that rivaled the uniqueness of the bench. It was in the section that housed the modern furniture, and this one was contemporary.

A bench made of cow hair with hoofed feet.
It was a bench made of cow hair and hoofs (real or faux, I don’t know). It was part of a threesome that included two lamps without shades. This bench did not grow on me; it reminded me too much of the poor stuffed and mounted animals I often see at auction.
Searching the web, I found other animal-legged tables, including a white African Table produced by noted designer John Dickinson that the blog Savvy Home said was “rare.” Dickinson made animal-legged furniture pretty popular in the 1970s with his African Table and other pieces. He was known for his concrete and plaster pieces, which have been re-issued in a different material by Sutherland Furniture.
Here are some benches and stools with goat-shaped legs by designer Myra Hoefer.

One of two lamps whose base is shaped like a cow's leg.
The animal-legged table at auction was a far cry from Dickinson’s works, which were described as simplistic and whimsical and now very expensive (Savvy Home noted that an original African Table could sell for around $20,000 and I found a Plaster Table selling for $16,000).
What do you think of these two benches from the auction? Would they work in your décor?
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Our houses are filled with memorabilia and artifacts that are part of our family's history and legacy. But far too often we don't know what we have or assume it's worth very little or nothing.
I started going to auctions to fuel my love for African American art – but at a bargain. I love the old masters: Lois Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Hughie Lee-Smith. I wanted to find their works and discover other veteran artists whose works may have been hiding in an attic or basement, and forgotten.
