Leather Dog Footstool in the Manner of Dimitri Omersa, 20th Century

A dog-form footstool in mottled brown leather, the standing hound assembled from shaped stitched panels with pendant ears, small rolled-leather eyes, four short legs and a long leather tail. A hand-stitched seam extends along the spine from the head to the rump. The surface shows creasing, rubbing and tonal variation consistent with age and use, with additional wear at the feet and tail. In the manner of Dimitri Omersa. Second Half of the 20th Century.

Height: 14 in. (36 cm.)
Width: 19 in. (48 cm.)
Depth: 7 in. (18 cm.)

Leather animal footstools of this type descend from the stuffed pig first supplied to Liberty of London between the wars. Dimitri Omersa, a Yugoslav émigré in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, took over the business in 1958 and extended the range to the elephant, donkey and rhinoceros, later retailed in the United States by Abercrombie & Fitch. The present example follows the Omersa model in form and construction; no maker’s stamp or label noted.