20 Antique Objects with Awesome Designs and Functions

How many times have you seen an object with a striking and functional design, and wanted to buy it right away? The design concept emerged in the 16th century. In Italy, the expression “design intero” was popular, and meant the idea born by an artist and inspired by God—in other words, the concept of a work of art. Antique objects with quirky designs are the subject of this post.

we, from awesome.club, we have no doubt that the artisans of the past were able to create things as impressive as the contemporaries, and our selection today makes us more certain of that. Check out!

Have you ever made tea by putting herbs straight into a cup of hot water, and a few pieces of it ended up in your mouth? So this 1881 invention would definitely suit him very well, as a good alternative to herbal infusion. And it can still perform a double function: you can add sugar along with the herbs that will be infused.

“This thing has been here at home for years,” one Reddit user shared. After searching the patent number on Google, he discovered that the object in question was used to make donuts. Maybe now the owner can use it to make some of these goodies, right?

In very old houses it was possible to find these strange boxes, which the owners often had no idea what they were. This object is a retractable clothesline to hang clothes indoors. In the past, many homes did not have enough space outside to mount a clothesline, so this device was quite popular between the 40s and 70s of the last century.

This antiquity is known as the “Chao Zhu” box from the time of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799). The donut-shaped design is no accident: this box is designed to hold the necklaces of royalty, and more specifically, prevent them from tangling.

This metal figurine was used to turn on the light. To do this, it was only necessary to tap the duck. Its main purpose was to serve as a switch and as a decoration piece.

The Yatate is a portable stationery kit widely used in Medieval Japan. The compartment consisted of an ink, a refill for a brush, in addition to a letter opener. It was easy to transport and allowed the owner to write information anywhere.

This object is called in English “Silent Butler”, and is used to collect crumbs from the table after a meal.

This Roman container is dated between the 1st and 2nd centuries, and is shaped like a boot. However, it was widely used as a perfume bottle. Maybe he could compete for the title of the most creative perfume bottle of all time, don’t you think?

This ring was designed around 1570, and it has an internal structure that houses a sundial.

The design of this spoon was developed in the 1870s, especially for men with mustaches, who often wet or soiled it during meals.

This bowl with two handles was used to catch an ember so smokers could light their pipes or cigars without getting burned.

This special accessory was particularly popular with young women: girls wore it to social events on a bracelet, and if a gentleman gave them a bouquet of flowers, they could put it on this special stand and dance peacefully.

An old 1880’s French perfumery bottle made of mother-of-pearl and bronze. The object worked as follows: when pressing the upper shell, the container opened and showed 4 bottles of perfume.

This pair of wool socks was not tailored for a man with only 2 toes on each foot. Between the 4th and 5th centuries, during the Roman occupation of Egypt, sandals were made in this design, so the socks had this unusual shape.

Whoever invented this machine apparently knew how to do several things at once. This device made it possible to view several books simultaneously by turning the crank.

This 4th century BC glass is capable of changing color depending on the angle of incidence of light. Such an effect is explained by the presence of colloidal particles of gold and silver in the glass. There is a theory that the author wanted to portray the stages of grape ripening. The design is pretty cool, isn’t it?

This 16th-century ring transforms into an armillary sphere — an astronomical tool used to determine the coordinates of celestial bodies.

In Pompeii, there were stone blocks on the roads throughout the city. Therefore, archaeologists could not find an answer to the following question: “How did the wagons pass?” After many studies, it was found that the stones were placed so that the wheels of the vehicles passed between them. At the same time, these stones served as an obstacle in the way of thieves who owned carts of a different size. In addition to other functions, the blocks were necessary for residents to cross the streets without getting their clothes dirty, because in Pompeii there was no sewage system, so waste flowed through the city streets.

These 16th century knives are adorned with sheet music and prayer lyrics that were commonly recited at mealtimes. For example, on one of the knives there is the inscription: “The blessing of the table: may the Holy Trinity bless what we are about to eat”.

This little lamp was designed specifically for children who were afraid of the dark. When you put a candle inside, the light came out of the cat’s eyes. In addition, this object was used to scare away mice. People believed that seeing a bright-eyed cat in the dark would definitely scare off rodents.

Which of these ancient artifacts would you most like to have? Tell us in the comments section.