A delightful Victorian to Edwardian era hand carved teak tray in the form of a 20 5/8" CAT figure with wonderful visual & decorative appeal! Likely Asian and part of the Chinoiserie aesthetic pieces brought into fashion by the Empress Eugenie, wife of the last Emperor of France, Louis-Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, and known simply as Napoleon III. The couple's impact on decorative fashion might have been their highest of any influences during the tenure of his Emperorship. Eugenie's tastes flowed worldwide during the Victorian era. These fabulous old carved teak trays were in use in the well-appointed interiors of the day, and remain popular now. As a bar tray, or vanity tray, or a tray in a master suite to hold towels, soaps - you'll find the perfect way to display and enjoy this lovely old one. Beautifully hand carved and quite unique, you'll likely want to do what I wanted to and just hand/display on the wall! I find no signature of the carver, however.
Very good condition for age and type, and the tray is nice and large at 20 5/8" x 12.5" with a depth overall of 1 3/8" at deepest. No handles on this one, no evidence there were ever any. There are a few chips to the cat's whiskers and hairline splits near his upper or front shoulder area. The most notable flaw is an old staple repaired split on the right side belly area. Just fabulous!
