 | It has been suggested that this article should be split into articles titled Pet furniture and Furniture made out of animals . (discuss) (October 2021) |
Animal furniture refers both to furniture used by animals and to furniture made from animals.
Known as "pet furniture", furniture designed for use by animals became a popular trend in the early 21st century. Typical pieces include pet beds, doghouses, hammocks, dog coolers, cat trees, parrot tents and extravagant play equipment. [1]
In 2008, James Stephenson and Jason R. Rich cited high-end furniture for cats and dogs as one of the best categories of products to buy and sell for big profits. [2] Home-crafted furniture for pets has also become popular. [3]
Animal furniture also refers to furniture made from animals. Such furniture became popular during the Victorian era. In 1896, William G. Fitzgerald wrote an article titled "Animal Furniture" in The Strand Magazine . The article included a photographic gallery of unusual pieces from the era, including a liquor stand made from an elephant's foot, a door stop made from an ostrich foot, a candelabra made from a monkey, lamps made from a black swan, an emu, monkeys, and a black bear, a chair made from a baby giraffe (with neck and head rising from the back, a porter's chair made out of a baby elephant, and a "tiger chair" with the seat covered in the animal's skin, the tail coiled around the edge, and "the head and paws ... arranged so as to give the impression that the terrible animal is about to spring." [4] In a 1907 book on big game hunting in Ceylon, Harry Storey described his practices of making furniture out of elephant parts:
"Of trophies to be secured from our elephants the feet rank first . . . They make fine footstools, liquor stands, or, if cut long in the leg, umbrella stands. [5]
In his book, "Empire and the Animal Body," John Miller wrote that the animal furniture made from exotic animals from throughout the British Empire became "hyperbolically domesticated metropolitan accessories that testify to imperial power through their extraordinary, and sometimes comic, ingenuity. [6]
Victorian furniture made from animals is sometimes referred to as "Wardian furniture," derived from the name of the noted taxidermist, Rowland Ward. One author noted:
"As a result of the work of Rowland Ward, there was a craze in the Victorian era for furniture and other decorative items made from the parts of animals. His were so popular that he got the unofficial naming rights: 'Wardian furniture' was the name generally given to any such object ..." [7]
A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/cute appearances, intelligence, and relatable personalities, but some pets may be taken in on an altruistic basis and accepted by the owner regardless of these characteristics.
Berlin wool work is a style of embroidery similar to today's needlepoint that was particularly popular in Europe and America from 1804 to 1875. It is typically executed with wool yarn on canvas, worked in a single stitch such as cross stitch or tent stitch, although Beeton's book of Needlework (1870) describes 15 different stitches for use in Berlin work. It was traditionally stitched in many colours and hues, producing intricate three-dimensional looks by careful shading. Silk or beads were frequently used as highlights. The design of such embroidery was made possible by the great progress made in dyeing, initially with new mordants and chemical dyes, followed in 1856, especially by the discovery of aniline dyes, which produced bright colors.
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word taxidermy describes the process of preserving the animal, but the word is also used to describe the end product, which are called taxidermy mounts or referred to simply as "taxidermy".
"The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by English author W. W. Jacobs. It first appeared in Harper's Monthly in 1902, and was reprinted in his third collection of short stories, The Lady of the Barge also in 1902. In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, but the wishes come with an enormous price for interfering with fate.
A sock monkey is a stuffed toy made from socks fashioned in the likeness of a monkey. These stuffed animals are a mixture of folk art and kitsch in the cultures of the United States and Canada. The typical sock monkey is brown and white with extra long limbs, a long tail and bright red lips. The animal may be adorned with additional ornamentation on its head or around its neck. The character has become part of popular culture and can be found in comic books and art.
A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoo or zoological garden.
Neo-Victorianism is an aesthetic movement that features an overt nostalgia for the Victorian period, generally in the context of the broader hipster subculture of the 1990s-2010s. It is also likened to other "neos", which do not simply look back to the past but also reiterate and replay it in more diverse and complicated ways. This characteristic makes neo-Victorian art difficult to define conclusively.
Venatio was a type of entertainment in Roman amphitheaters involving the hunting and killing of wild animals.
Wicker is a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. Wicker was first documented in ancient Egypt, then having been made from pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. The word wicker or "wisker" is believed to be of Scandinavian origin: vika, which means "to fold" in Swedish. Wicker is traditionally made of material of plant origin, such as willow, rattan, reed, and bamboo, though the term also applies to products woven from synthetic fibers. Wicker is light yet sturdy, making it suitable for items that will be moved often like porch and patio furniture. Rushwork and wickerwork are terms used in England. A typical braiding pattern is called Wiener Geflecht, Viennese Braiding, as it was invented in 18th century Vienna and later most prominently used with the Thonet coffeehouse chair.
A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength or for transportation, while others are service animals trained to execute certain specialized tasks. They may also be used for milking or herding. Some, at the end of their working lives, may also be used for meat or leather.
Ivory carving is the carving of ivory, that is to say animal tooth or tusk, generally by using sharp cutting tools, either mechanically or manually. Objects carved in ivory are often called "ivories".
James Rowland Ward (1848–1912) was a British taxidermist and founder of the firm Rowland Ward Limited of Piccadilly, London. The company specialised in and was renowned for its taxidermy work on birds and big-game trophies, but it did other types of work as well. In creating many practical items from antlers, feathers, feet, skins, and tusks, the Rowland Ward company made fashionable items from animal parts, such as zebra-hoof inkwells, antler furniture, and elephant-feet umbrella stands.
Animals in sport are a specific form of working animals. Many animals, at least in more commercial sports, are highly trained. Two of the most common animals in sport are horses and dogs.
Frank Howard Buck was an American hunter, animal collector, and author, as well as a film actor, director, and producer. Beginning in the 1910s he made many expeditions into Asia for the purpose of hunting and collecting exotic animals, bringing over 100,000 live specimens back to the United States and elsewhere for zoos and circuses and earning a reputation as an adventurer. He co-authored seven books chronicling or based on his expeditions, beginning with 1930's Bring 'Em Back Alive, which became a bestseller. Between 1932 and 1943 he starred in seven adventure films based on his exploits, most of which featured staged "fights to the death" with various wild beasts. He was also briefly a director of the San Diego Zoo, displayed wild animals at the 1933–34 Century of Progress exhibition and 1939 New York World's Fair, toured with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and co-authored an autobiography, 1941's All in a Lifetime. The Frank Buck Zoo in Buck's hometown of Gainesville, Texas, is named after him.
Victorian decorative arts refers to the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era. Victorian design is widely viewed as having indulged in a grand excess of ornament. The Victorian era is known for its interpretation and eclectic revival of historic styles mixed with the introduction of Asian and Middle Eastern influences in furniture, fittings, and interior decoration. The Arts and Crafts movement, the aesthetic movement, Anglo-Japanese style, and Art Nouveau style have their beginnings in the late Victorian era and gothic period.
Dimitrie Ghica-Comănești was a Romanian nobleman, explorer, famous hunter, adventurer and politician. He was born into the Ghica family, with nobiliary and ethnic Albanian ancestry roots beginning in the 17th century. He was the son of Ecaterina Plagino (1820–1881) and aga Nicolae Ghica, boyar, from whom he inherited the estate domains of Comănești and Palanca, two of the ten his father had. He graduated a law degree from the Humboldt University of Berlin, and pursued his career as prefect of Bacău County, magistrate, and member of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania between 1872 and 1892 and further as royal adviser.
An Elephant on His Hands is a 1913 American silent short comedy film directed by Al Christie, and starring Eddie Lyons, Lee Moran, and Lon Chaney. The film is now considered lost.
A cellarette or cellaret is a small furniture cabinet, available in various sizes, shapes, and designs which is used to store bottles of alcoholic beverages such as wine or whiskey. They usually come with some type of security such as a lock to protect the contents. Such wooden containers for alcoholic beverages appeared in Europe as early as the fifteenth century. They first appeared in America in the early eighteenth century and were popular through the nineteenth century. They were usually made of a decorative wood and sometimes had special designs so as to conceal them from the casual observer. They were found in pubs, taverns, and homes of the wealthy.
The Hyde Park pet cemetery is a disused burial ground for animals in Hyde Park, London. It was established in 1880 or 1881 in the garden of Victoria Lodge, home of one of the park keepers. The cemetery became popular after the burial of a dog belonging to Sarah Fairbrother, wife of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. Some 1,000 burials were carried out before the cemetery was generally closed in 1903; sporadic burials were carried out thereafter until 1976. Most of the animals are dogs, though some cats, monkeys and birds were also buried. The site is owned by the charity The Royal Parks and not open to the public except as part of occasional tours.