Defined
Origin: 1900–05
Definition: The ball-and-claw leg, which is also called a cabriole leg, has a graceful and elegant curve before tapering in to a foot that is styled to resemble a stylized animal's foot holding an orb. This style is formal and characteristic of Queen Anne and Chippendale furniture. It's usually found in homes that have a "period" style. It blends well with other antique and reproduction furniture styles.
Harris, Pamela Cole. "Ball-and-Claw Leg Style" About.com:Budget Decorating. Accessed 10/6/10.
Quotations
"'Laura is seated in the delicate ivory chair at the ... small clawfoot table. She wears a dress of soft violet material for a kimono – her hair is tied back from her forehead with a ribbon. She is washing and polishing her collection of glass.'(Scene Two, stage directions).
*Thought: Emphasizing her fragility, Laura is constantly surrounded by delicate and breakable objects, furniture, and clothing."
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Glass Menagerie Weakness Quotes."
Shmoop.com. Shmoop
University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 07 Oct 2010.
"The foot style of the tub will vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer, but there are some basic styles. The ball and claw is one of the most traditional, comprised of a clawed foot resting on and gripping a metal ball which sits on the floor. A lion’s paw is another popular style, consisting of a foot with four distinct toes pointing out at the ground...
The feet may be available in multiple metal finishes, or the color of the tub itself. Some companies will sell the feet separately from the tub, surprising the buyer with the cost at the end, so be sure to inquire if the feet are included in the price quoted.
"
Asaff, Sarabeth. "Reconsidering the Antique Bathtub" suite101.com: Bathroom Decors. 18 Oct 2009. Accessed 10/7/10.
Annotated Bibliography
BY ALIX, BROWNE. "Going For Broke."
New York Times Magazine (2008): 90.
Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Oct. 2010.
This article is a review of Beth Lipman's (artist/glassblower) installation piece titled,
After You're Gone.
"A slab of cheese, a mound of pigs' feet, wedges of watermelon, a bowl of eggs and a platter of oysters have all been left to ruin on the massive wooden dining room table. A towering centerpiece, pregnant with fruit, has keeled over, taking out goblets and candlesticks in its wake. Already, snails are arriving in droves. A squirrel, eyeing the situation from its perch on the wall nearby, prepares to fling itself into the tableau. This scene of out-and-out gluttony, teetering on the brink of chaos, is all the more precarious because it is made entirely of glass... Inspired by a visit to the Pendleton House, the RISD Museum's 1906 neo-Georgian wing, she brought even more to the already loaded table, adding glass topiaries, a pair of convex glass portraits and an alarmingly ornate glass claw-foot settee, to create her own version of a period room."
Browne discusses the installation, pointing out the references to Dutch still life paintings, "drawing parallels between the golden era of that genre and today's consumerism." Browne appreciates the beautiful, yet fragile existence within this installation. She states about the artist, "she prepares herself mentally to remove the wooden braces from the glass settee. ''Hopefully it will stand.'' The bench in fact holds its weight, but either way she would have been fine." The article was an informative review of the artist's work and also a peek into her training and artistic background. Browne's writing style makes the reader empathize with Lipman because of her portrayal of the artist's personality.
Relates
The topic of ball-and-claw foot imagery and furniture relates to my work on a material as well as conceptual basis. On a material level, I have been photographing such furniture to relate my concepts to its resonance in everyday life. On the concept level, the ideas of societies consuming animal symbolism is inherent in my work, which also involves taxidermy and ideas of status. I found the hints to the fragility of wealth and consumer economies to be very intriguing in that they kept coming up during the research of this topic. For example, in addition to the instances recorded above, I noticed the extreme low value of such "opulence" as ball-and-claw foot chairs and other furniture in present day contradicts the symbolism of owning such commodities in history. I will think of investigating this in my work.
Defined
n-klaw] –noun Furniture . 
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