Woodcarvers' tales

Sometime ago, I posted some at-home-tourist thoughts about things I like in our vintage 1930's house. I've been thinking lately on how to follow up on those positive vibes, and my thoughts, and eyes, have been drawn to some of the lovely details in woodwork that I admire around the place—some of which are even older than the house.

Now, what follows might lead you to believe that we've always been lovers of antiques, but the real story is a bit less flattering. Henry's mother loved antiques, and also had quite an eye for lovely pieces, and the items you see here came to us largely through her largesse, or at least thanks to the well-chosen collection of antiques that furnished her house. In other words, we've always been happy to take free furniture, and our affection for these examples of a bygone age's craftsmanship has simply grown through years of familiarity!

For example, the two photos above are details from a simply stunning buffet that she gave us to replace the one we originally had (that she also gave us) when she wanted to use that one at her lakehouse. The curly-cue detail on the left is from one of the buffet's doors, and the handsome lintel and columns (architectural terms might not be completely correct) are from its top.

We've recently become the happy owners of lovely chairs from Tootsie's house [not wanting to be called "grandma" when she became one, she opted instead for this nickname from her childhood—a much more fitting appellation for someone with her energy and young-at-heart outlook!].
This photo is of the gorgeous detail that adorns the tops of these chairs, now in our dining room, which Henry's parents brought back with then after living in Germany. It's some of the prettiest carving in the house, and occasionally makes me want to rethink my general disdain for anything frou-frou-y...frou-frou like this I can handle!

Some of the furniture we have dates back much further, like a large china cabinet that belonged to Tootsie's great-grandmother. The story is that she brought it to Texas with her from Tennessee. The medallion on the left here is my favorite detail piece of carving on the cabinet.

Not all of the woodworking I like is on furniture, though. This charming little owl (I guess?) figure on the right, and the handy wooden bowls all came from my mother's house. Not exactly antiques, yet, I expect they are 1950's vintage.

Another nice figurine we have is this handsome carving on the left, from Vietnam, a souvenir of our son's bicycle trek there a few years ago. [Want to read about what can result when you raise your children to be independent and adventurous? He kept a journal on this three-month-long odyssey, via the aptly named website "Crazy Guy on a Bike."]

An amazing contrast to the simple lines of this figure is the somewhat hallucinogenic carving on a chest that Henry's Dad brought home from his service in India during the War. Now the happy repository of our Christmas decorations, this piece takes the prize for the most elaborately carved object in the house. This photo only shows a portion of the front, which for some reason has a bit of uncarved surface exposed. The top is all etched in similar scenes, leaving me simply to marvel at the skill, patience, and imagination of the woodcarver. What a tale, indeed!