Arthur Court Tray Table with Bird Motif, "gemstone Eye" and Ball & Claw Feet

A table on bird's legs, gripping polished balls and refusing to let go.

This Arthur Court tray table with a bird motif, a "gemstone eye" and ball and claw feet is aluminum and dates to the mid 20th century. Cast aluminum tray tables like this were made for mid-century entertaining, to hold a drink or a dish beside a chair, and ball and claw feet are an old furniture convention seldom taken this literally. Overlapping feathers cover the shallow tray in raised relief. The long legs and crossing stretchers are textured like scales, and each foot closes its talons around a smooth ball. The metal has a silvery shine with darker recesses. Twenty-two inches high.

Coasters seem beside the point.