Here's another piece of furniture term trivia that I'm sure you've been on the edge of your seat to learn. Those vertical support pieces in the center of an open backed chair that serves as a back rest are called splats. In other period furniture, they can take numerous shapes, including that of a vase or urn and can be pierced, ornamentally carved or inlaid with marquetry. However, in mid-century pieces, they tend to be simple and streamlined and very often V-shaped.
Splats aren't especially common in MCM chairs, and when you see them, they will usually be in pieces of Scandinavian design, but the examples I've found are quite beautiful, I think.
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If you're new to the blog and want to increase your knowledge of furniture trivia so you can wow your friends at the next cocktail party, type Psssst into the search box. You'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about sabots, slubs and Fagas straps.
LOVE it! your blog is so much more educational than my blog could ever dream to be :)
ReplyDelete@Bandita: Thanks! I'm a retired high school teacher/librarian with lots of time on my hands to play on the computer and find random cool stuff and absolutely ridiculous trivia...and I love doing it.
ReplyDeleteI'm lovin' those splats!
ReplyDelete@Midcenturymadam: Yep, I'm lovin' me some splats too, and I don't have a single one in my house. Does that sound like a good excuse to chair shop? :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bandita, I'm happy as a clam to have you in my blog list because you not only publish often but also are so informative and educational. You do a good job.
ReplyDelete@Mr.Modtomic: Why, thanks, Mr.M. I always look forward to your posts too. They're always entertaining, and you find the BEST stuff! Not only that, but you post like clockwork. I like that.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that the words "educational" and "informative" and keep coming up in descriptions of my blog. After 30 years in the classroom, I guess it's in my blood, even when I'm trying to act retired. I threw away all my red pens though, so I promise there won't be a quiz. :)
ReplyDeletelol@your last comment.
ReplyDeleteLearning, nor teaching, should never stop. =)
(I bet that was an improper sentence, awkward sentence structure was always my downfall grrr lol).
I first learned about chair splats from watching Antiques Roadshow and the Keno brothers. They always made learning about antiques exciting, because they were excited about it.
You have the same passion, and it makes learning so much better when the teacher is excited about the subject themselves.
Did all that make sense? It's just after 2:00 a.m., I plead a lack of coffee as the culprit. =)
@1950sarh: What you said made me think about the NPR program "Car Talk." I couldn't care less about cars, but I always enjoy listening to Tom and Ray Magliozzi, because they love what they're discussing. You're right. We should never stop wanting to learn. Just poke me if I start sounding like Ben Stein's character in the Ferris Bueller movie. :)
ReplyDeleteYou must have been the most fantastic teacher. Your posts are so interesting and fun! I love learning something when I visit your blog! And yes, time for chair shopping . . .
ReplyDelete@Tanya: Thanks...that was such a nice thing for you to say. I truly loved teaching literature, and my former students (who make up a huge chunk of my Facebook friends) will tell me from time to time about a particular lesson they remember, even after all these years. I'd like to think that means I did a good job, but I guess it could mean the lesson was a yawner of unforgettable proportions...:)
ReplyDelete@Tanya: Come to think of it, would that make the lesson a Y.O.U.P.? And would that be anything like a R.O.U.S.?
ReplyDeleteAfter our discussion of The Princess Bride the other day, I felt compelled to ask.
Wow, thanks! I love learning new stuff!
ReplyDeleteCool to know! Thanks. I'm still soaking up "Fagas" straps. I love splat chairs by the way and now I know what to call them!
ReplyDelete@Barbara and Rhan Vintage: The idea of posting about obscure furniture terms started out as nothing more than a way to have a little fun, but I'm amazed at how much I've learned while looking for them.
ReplyDelete