Ontwerp voor een theedoekrek met twee leeuwenkoppen 1900

This is a design drawing for a tea towel rack with two lion heads by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries. De Vries was working during the period of the World Wars. The drawing itself is a study in contrasts – it is both highly practical and playfully imaginative. The lion, often a symbol of strength and courage, here flanks an object of domesticity. What does it mean to bring such powerful symbolism into the private sphere? Perhaps it speaks to the quiet strength found in daily rituals, such as the drying of dishes, which traditionally falls to women. The image of the lion transforms this humble object into a statement. It asks us to consider the cultural values we assign to different activities and spaces. Consider how this design challenges the traditional binary of masculine and feminine, public and private, and to think about the quiet ways that power is wielded in the home.