The One Item That Will Instantly Bring Nostalgia to Your Home
September 14, 2024
Source: Reddit
Can you imagine how a certain product can remind you of your childhood? Who among you hasn’t recalls the time when his or her grandparents’ house was full of those small wonders – any item which was displayed on any surface seemed to have a tale to tell? There was always a little ceramic figure or the seemingly out of place wooden decoration that one was not supposed to touch and yet its presence was somewhat reassuring like a silent companion to those end of the week afternoons/
There is one such item that will almost always trigger that memory for many people and that is the vintage ceramic white sleeping cat statue on a wooden rail. If you were born in the 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s you may have noticed such items placed on the mantle or a side table. It was not only about the appearance; these personagens looked like they are soothing and in harmony with the world which was slower in those days.
This ceramic cat, half-reclining on a wooden rail, is not just a stylized decoration, it is also a collector’s item. This is a miniature of art and craftsmanship which has been created solely to represent the most favourite activity of all cats – laying down. The cat is portrayed as resting in its most graceful manner with its eyes shut, its paw hanging down in perfect sync with the wooden stand it is perched on; a memory of the blissful Sunday afternoons, when nothing much was left to be done than watch the cat sleeping in the sun light.
These figurines were usually hand made, and one had to take time to shape the piece and paint it. Post war, people began to adorn their homes with personal items and this also affected the home décor. Skilled workers began to design objects which could be used as well as admired, pieces that would raise questions and trigger discussions – as the ceramic cat does.
This kind of handcrafted items were owned by people in the ’60s and the ’70s as a sign of change of culture. The society was gradually turning its back to the impersonal and standardized appearance that characterized the immediate post-war years and embracing the notion of expressing one’s personality through interior design. Photographing a figurine like a cat curled up on a rail was not only about ornamenting a space, it was about presenting a way of living.
It was something that made the place look warm and welcoming and very homely. It depicted a time when houses were constructed with comfort in mind not the exterior looks. These cats that are placed on their wooden rails had become part of people’s newfound appreciation for the more natural and simple aesthetics as the world becomes more and more mechanized.
It is like having a piece of the past when one buys one of these figurines today. It helps you to get acquainted with the period that was rather innocent and people sought beauty in the items that were commonly used in their homes. It wasn’t just the beauty of the cats that were added on the ceramic; they also brought in a certain comfort that a particular room needed—something that we very much need amidst the stress that the modern world can give.
For the ones who still have such a figurine or for the ones who are fortunate enough to stumble upon one at a yard sale or in their relative’s attic it is a physical representation of how things were before. It is a method of clinging on to those tender, more reserved memories of the past and a nice nod to the comfortable houses we knew as children.
Today these vintage ceramics serve as a source of aesthetic satisfaction to those people who have an understanding of the art and history associated with them. It helps to recall that sometimes the life does not have to be hectic and overly complicated. At some point, a sleeping cat figurine sitting on a plain wooden rails will make you feel a kind of relax that is hard to find.
So, the next time you come across one of these tiny pieces of history, think of those long, tranquil summer days of your childhood, the good old days, when even such things could add some color to one’s life.
In addition, as a cat understands how to live, there is always something appealing in simplicity and calmness.