Antique Bed

AMERICAN BEDS AND CRADLES
About 1660-1760
New England maple cradle, 1920’s old english oak wardrobes swinging 017 upright ends.
Examples survive from the late 17thC Some of the earliest types continued to be made with little change until well into the 19thC, english draw leaf table with makers mark wax making it difficult to date them with certainty. Many space-saving constructions, seth thomas banjo clock some dual-purpose.
Low posted bed: Turned posts, how to tell a chippendale sideboard headboard, lion paw foot furniture 1920 New England, mahogany dictionary stand late-17thC. Similar types made about 1840 by Shakers at Lebanon, kepsi gul New York, spoons rat tail dog nose and by slaves in Louisiana.
Trundle (truckle) bed: Bed-frame on feet, pivoting table legs furniture pushed under posted bed when not in use.
Settle bed (French Canadian banc-lit): Box-seated settle by day; seat tips forward to disclose bed – the prototype bed-settee. Made in country districts throughout 18thC.
Press bed: Hinged to tip up against wall in daytime, 19th century wrought iron baby cots & cradles and enclosed by doors or drapes. Persisted, antique oriental bronze figurine lamp with some improvements, thonet chair ny from early 18thC down to modern times.
Tester bed: The English type of four-poster bed with carved decoration does not seem to have been produced in 17thC New England, italian baroque 18th century dining tables but many 18thC American tester beds have survived. Early examples have simple posts that were hidden by hangings, french tressle table providing privacy and protection from the night air, antique portuguese xviii bowl believed to be poisonous. Posts came square to the floor until the claw-and-ball foot was introduced about 1760.
Slaap banck: A bed built into a curtained alcove, banded mahogany dining table with panelled sides and ends; some were imported from the Netherlands by Dutch colonists, mirror with carved giltwood frame with acanthus motif others made to order, william & mary olivewood oyster veneered lace box mainly in New York area.
Cradles: Late-17th and early-18thC types made like lidless, ottoman duncan phyfe panelled chests mounted on rockers, original black paint linen press cupboard with turnings at the foot to provide the mother with a hand grip for rocking.
Many have a complete hood or a three-sided screen at the head – again for protection against poisonous night air – but some (Pennsylvania German especially) are open. A New England type was suspended from uprights at the ends, lord and taylor ceramic so that it could swing instead of rock.
Pine panels, veneer roccoco birch posts, value of 3 tiered carved collapsible table not much oak. Walnut in Pennsylvania. Fabrics for drapes.
Low posted bed: Solid headboard with two tenons at each side let into mortises cut in posts. Rails attached to posts at head and foot, curved writing tables Early-18thC tester bed With post square to floor from bed-talt.
Rope interlaced through rails to form a resilient platform for mattress.
Tester bed: Basically similar to above, large regency convex mirror but tenons of rails secured with bolts through posts for ease in dismantling.
Left, antiquesdutch paintings landscapes construction of bedstead, card table antique leather-top round 1650-1850.
Right, chinese pearl inlay table detail of a crewelwork bed hanging, haviland limoges china pattern lambrequin 1930-1940,s late-17th C.
Bed settle, antique drawing desks press bed: Action usually based on dowels moving in sockets.
Cradle: Boarded or panelled.
Pencil bed frame.
Simple turning of posts, billie’s and charlie’s pilgrim badges some headboards with cyma scrolls on top edge. Tester beds before mid-18thC relied for decoration on crewelwork drapes – floral patterns, restoring 1930’s vintage wood cabinets some with sampler-like texts or verses, ebony table legs embroidered in long-stitch by the women of the house, antique drop leaf corner table using the long, armada chest reproduction blunt crewel needle to produce what was called, rare antiques in the 19thC, round oak table with dragon legs ‘painting with the needle’ – raised to a fine art in Colonial America, 19th century dining table
Cradles: Some Rhode Island examples have rows of turned spindles. Pennsylvania German types without hoods have a heart motif cut through headboard, antique saber legs cabinets and are brightly painted with stylized patterns.
Headboard of Pennsylvania German open cradle, raised english antique beds pierced with heart motif Woodwork painted, black fretwork drum tables varnished, antique oak card tables waxed or left raw.
Even the simplest beds can bring high prices if an early American origin can be substantiated; if it cannot, antique armchair on sale the bed should be assessed on its merits, kneehole chest bearing in mind the problems of dating (see above). Cradles are fashionable furnishing pieces for putting plants in, english long case clockmakers 1700 to 1800 or logs if there is an open fire. Not much used for babies.
Surprisingly, queen ann style 2 drawer rectangle end table people do pay fancy prices for beds in which some celebrity is supposed to have slept. Association value can be a valid factor, antique carved burmese table top but it needs more than a one night stand to establish it.
NEW WORLD BEDS AND CRADLES
About 1760-1790
Chippendale carved mahogany four-post bedstead, what colors and flowers did pinxton pottery use Massachusetts 17601780.
With the introduction of the Chippendale style, william and mary table with flattend vase legs more trouble was taken with the posts of the full tester, jacobean linen chest as they were exposed to view, antique table built-in sliding leaves at least during the day, what materials did the regency style of furniture use the drapes being drawn back to hang at the head. Headboards more shapely with top edge scrolled in the rococo style. Tester sometimes exposed, desk legs wood art deco sometimes hidden by valance. Low beds and cradles much as before.
As before, antique wooden table 6 legs except for the use of mahogany for the best quality tester beds.
Little change.
Posts – especially those at the foot – no longer treated as merely functional supports but as objects for decoration – turning, cobalt blue dining chair fluting, ball and claw antique tables carving – terminating in turned feet or, antique dragon rugs exceptionally, english antique octagonal rent table cabriole legs with claw-and-ball feet. Headboards shaped, designs of antique 18th century baroque settee sometimes upholstered.
Exposed woodwork wax polished. Because posts were exposed, circular card baize table bolt holes were covered with small metal plates.
Good tester beds of this period, upholstered chairs vs chippendale chairs with decorated posts, red upholstered louis iv chair tend to be more expensive than earlier, greek key dentil moulding plainer examples.
Check that the decorated parts – posts, walter gropius hans wegner bauhaus headboard, hepplewhite wood mirror with phoenix carving tester (if exposed) – are all of the same period and really belong to each other. Replaced rails are much less important.
Bolt hole covered with small metal plate.
BEDS AND CRADLES About 1790-1820
First phase of neo-classicism: Hepplewhite and Sheraton styles – restrained elegance. Tent beds and Windsor cradles popular – see CONSTRUCTION. Some half-testers with posts at head only.
Tent beds: Mahogany, brass sofa tables birch, art nouveau carver chairs pine. Fine fabrics for drapes on grander beds, a clean , dry limestone core plug weighs 75 gm with a dimeter of 3cm and a length of 5.5cm cotton gingham, english jacobean chair striped or checked, antique inkstand with horses head for more modest types.
Windsor cradles: Birch, aesthetic movement display cabinet beech, smith derby fusee ash, wooden coffee table adjustable height 1950s pine.
Tent beds: Four posts supporting frame of canopy, oak dresser tridarn 2 draw curved at head and foot, claude reverend sometimes at sides, scrolled front side table with 2 shelves using thin, french canadian cupboards bent laths with fabric draped over.
Half-tester beds: Canopy cantilevered.
Windsor cradles: Lightly built, neoclassical stoneware made like Windsor chairs, mahogany empire style settee with lyre-shaped arms using turned spindles socketed into holes in frame of bent ash.
If meant to stand against wall, louis xv carved walnut french fauteuil armchair 18th century the posts at the head were sometimes turned but not fluted and/or carved, antique glass blown claw bottles being partly hidden by drapes; but when the ceiling sloped too steeply for that, louis xiv chairs, mason the bed had to be free-standing at, gustavian frieze or near, 6 drawer oak highboy manufacturers centre of room; all four posts were exposed to view and were decorated to match each other. Do not, antique birch biedermeier commode therefore, queen mary carved 3 drawer chest reject a four-poster too readily as a made-up piece because the posts at the foot are decorated and those at the head are not.
Right, carved antique bookcase fool Past, swedish rococo carpet turned and earned; far right head post, drop leaf table with lions head pulls on drawers turned, silk ivory umbrella but with no carving.
Many beds of this period were painted in pale colours, myott china old silver lustre otherwise wax polished.
Tent beds with well-turned, antique hasps fluted posts are expensive but so agreeable that they are unlikely ever to become unfashionable and may be seen as sound investments.

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AMERICAN BEDS About 1820-1890
Late_19thC Empire-style gilt and bronze-mounted bed.
The Empire style (second neo-classical phase) lasted from 1820 to 1840 but by about 1825 was already being elbowed out by Gothic and rococo revivals, kingwood marquetry table ormolu mounts soon followed by Elizabethan (Renaissance/ baroque). Tent beds continued to be made but with heavier posts. New types included:
Sleigh beds: A type modelled on Franck lit-en-bateau (see EUROPEAN BEDS, italian walnut wardrobe p. 204) with scrolled head and foot, purple and pinck prayer rugs sometimes with suspended, george ii baluster silver mug draped canopy.
Gothic: Massive posts formed as cluster columns set on square pedestal bases. (One example is reputed to have been made about 1825 for the visit of Lafayette.)
Rococo: No posts, chippendale mahagony furniture ornate head and footboard, empire pedestal table with lion’s paw feet reaching apogee about 1850 with J. H. Belter’s creations in carved and pierced types made from laminated boards. Baudouine and Meeks worked in a similar style. Brass bedsteads were equally ornate using brass (or brassed) tubes combined with rosettes in gilt metal and mother-of-pearl. Iron bedsteads were much simpler.
Meanwhile, heavy walnut table more austere beds, portable tambour writing desk roll top antique little different in appearance from 18thC types, antique bookshelf with scroll top were made by country craftsmen and by Shaker communities. The latter included trundle, satinwood inlay folding and easily dismantled models in their range.
Below, bureau pedestal desk painted poplar bedstead, georgian furniture makers stamps New York 1830.
Aesthetic movement ebonised bed, cut out gilt edged porcelain New York, 19th century ladder back woven seat chair about 1880.
Variety of timbers. Brass, singing bird automata spanish king iron. Belter’s patented laminated timber (from three to 16 laminae) was surfaced with rosewood, prince of wales design dining table steamed and pressed into moulds to shape it into curves. Shakers used cherry, antique dresser with keyhole drawers pine and maple. Less emphasis on drapes, regency chiffonier but much loving care devoted to quilts, document chest of drawers especially patchwork.
Whether machined or hand-cut, bruce talbert art nouveau breakfront the mortiseand-tenon joint remained mainstay of most makers of beds. Shakers made ingenious use of lapped joint secured with key wedges for a type that could be easily taken apart, william& mary 18th c. drop leaf/gateleg dining table the legs mounted on castors.
Shaker beds can be difficult to date, rosewood sideboard chinese but one clue is to be found in the castors or roller wheels. Before about 1880, brandt cupboard cabinet they were set sideways so that bed could not run away from wall: after 1880, lacquer paper mache powder pot they swivel.
Late in the century, high back antique rosewood sofa wire mesh mattresses were introduced as supports for overlays in sophisticated circles, queen anne fold-over table but rural and western types either continued to use the cross-rope system or replaced it with lath supports slotted into mortises in frame.
Empire style: Turned bar, silver gilt teaspoons by paul crespin resembling a rolling pin, viictorian table cupboards set above panel of headboard. Sleigh beds were carved with swans.
Gothic: Carved tracery in pointed arches on headboards, wooden hadley type chest cluster-column posts.
Rococo: Lavish carving (and sometimes piercing) of C-scrolls, basin stand antique flowers and foliage on headboards.
Elizabethan: Headboards set between spirally turned uprights.
Sophisticated beds French polished. Country and Shaker types left neutral, antique cherry blanket chest painted or stained.
Below, 19th century antique dutch dining table craft style bed-head with though tenons, velvet dressing tables from the 1600’s about 1910.
Belter’s lavish beds highly collectable, 19th century bookshelf but many attributed to him were probably made by Meeks or Baudouine, cylindrical bookcase both of whom imitated his style and came close to infringing his patents. Money better spent on simpler, gilt mirror birds solid types, antique end tables new orleans e.g. Shaker.
Far left, pair antique chests foot of Shaker bed, indian hardwood and ivory inlaid occasional table swivel castor used after 1880; left, nymphenburg antique figurines lapped joint oint of Shaker bed With castor set sideways, louis xvi style carved giltwood console 1900 before 1880.

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AMERICAN BEDS About 1890-1940
Gradual move towards greater simplicity, difference between english american oak furniture with emphasis on comfort and practicality rather than appearance.
Headboard of Sheraton revival bedstead.
Craft movement favoured bedsteads with head and foot composed of vertical bars set into horizontal rails between low, william iv cane seat beech dining chairs square-section posts.
Sheraton revival (1890-1910) had little to do with Sheraton beyond use of boxwood stringing on mahogany head and footboards.
Jacobean revival followed, semicircular bookshelf designs using caned panels, brass keyhole plate for hanging mirrors and large picture frames often oval, small roman numeral ebony mantel clock antique set between turned uprights. Industrial design rejected all such trimmings and opted for austerity. Art Moderne went in opposite direction, antique horn chair applying luxurious.
Below, antique american bedside tables carved headboard of Jacobean revival bedstead.
Oak, antique mahogany shaving stand ash, george i shell carved side chair walnut for Craft and Jacobean types, 19th century mahogany secretary mahogany for Sheraton revival. Industrial designers liked hygienic, rococo porcelan bowls value painted surface on headboards, 4 drawer chest with eagle, wings outspread or chromium-plated steel tubes. Art Moderne raided rain forests for exotic timbers used in solid and veneer form. Mattresses filled with coil springs rested on the side-irons of bedsteads or the sprung bases of divan beds. Headboards often upholstered.
Traditional types made by traditional methods. Industrial and Art Moderne used new techniques, georgian style bookcase/cupboard combination machine processes, stickley cherry valley collector to achieve flush surfaces, 1920’s antique platinum diamond initial pin brooch bold shapes.
Sheraton: Inlaid stringing, william davis clock maker crossbanding. Jacobean: Turning, writing desk bureau with book shelves simplistic carving.
Art Moderne: Marquetry, numbered mark for chamber pot quartered veneers (SEE EUROPEAN CABINETS, asian antique display cabinet p. 213).
French polish, elaborate covered headboards cellulose, minton jardinieres george jones paint, inlaid wood antique bed, portuguese lacquer.
Best buys: Craft bedsteads, baluster lamps Art Moderne divan beds.

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ANTIQUE BEDS
Mahogany Bed
Art Nouveau bed, royal dux urn with ram heads bentwood, half round desk lion the arched head- and footboards fightly scrolled bentwood designs above oval panels, mahogany straight leg chippendale chairs the scrolled siderails similar oval panels, lion paw furniture legs on scrolled feet on casters, english draw leaf table history Continental, antique settees regency late 19th century.
Art Deco bed, epergne glass liner carved mahogany, captains desk antique the rectangular headboard & footboard rounded corners carved leafing vines framing wide burl panels, elm consol table chineses France, settees one armrest late 1 9th - early 20th c., mahogany knife urn Art Nouveau
Bentwood Bed, dog shape furniture knobs Sleigh Bed, mixing bed side tables Tester Bed.
Classical low poster bed, oak empire bookcase maple, vienna thonet chair 4 engraved the ring- and baluster-turned headposts turned finials centering a shaped headboard, oak walnut dentil moulding on tapering ring-turned cylindrical legs, antique setees the similarly turned footposts centering a ring-turned
cylindrical stretcher, dwarf victorian revolving bookstand probably Pennsylvania, barbedienne bronzes ca. 1830
Classical low poster bed, antique narrow hall table walnut, indian ivory walking sword head- and foot crestrails boldly turned acorn finials above head- & footboards each two crotch walnut panels, 1930s rotating bookshelf the posts acorn finials above block- and column-turned legs on ball feet, spider mid-century dining table original siderails extended, art deco table lamp with kneeling man and end of day glass early 19th century, thomas chippendale antique furniture interior crack in one.
Classical tester bed, (nippon morimura dragon vases) mahogany, english clock face painters the posts turned vase-form capitals above faceted posts on capsule-shaped feet enclosing an arched headboard down-swept voluted crestrail & serpentine footboard & rails, suzanne lalique painting for sale, what are they worth u.s.a. probably
lower Mississippi Valley, antique campaign chair ca. 1830-1840.
Country-style low poster bed, antique dresser with serpentine front veneer painted red, romanesque wooden table the block-and baluster-turned headposts ball finials & ball feet centering a triangular shaped headboard, marquetry inlay on tambours the similarly turned footposts centering a rectangular footboard, rococo period english longcase clocks
Pennsylvania, antique wash bowl stand ca. 1810.
Federal tall poster bed, william davis london antique long case clock carved mahogany, three tier antique dumb waiter the headboard a spiral-carved crestrail scrolling down to acanthus-carved rosettes above a raised panel flanked by reeded acanthus-carved posts
Classical sleigh bed, red japanned lowboy mahogany, charles dickens antique ceramic tiles serpentine scrolling head- and footboards above scalloped deep siderails carved beading, parquetry chest or commode on straight legs ending in molded block feet, regency leg 1710 mid-19th century, italian inlaid dresser motif picture interior.
Federal Tall Poster Bed acanthus-carved urn finials & ending in tapering reeded feet, antique vencian laterns antique simple siderails & footrails flanked by similarly carved footposts, 1870s catalogues early 19th century, antique gateleg table inlay Federal tall poster bed, antique ceramics head egyptian table lamp cherry & pine, german toilette box rosewood veneered with brass, pewter, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, stained and painted horn and gilt bronze mounts the baluster-and urn-turned headposts centering a scalloped & shaped headboard, four swing-out support gate-legs on ring-turned cylindrical legs, reproduction chippendale chair with arms the similarly turned footposts centering a shaped footboard, boulle cabinet for sale in los angeles surmounted by a flat tester, old glass overlay bohamian Pennsylvania, leather studded highbacked chair ca. 1820, italian 18thc mirrors Federal tester bed, long case clock strike pattern mahogany, mahogany gallery rails the reeded footposts waterleaf- and bead-carved ending in flattened-ball feet, mochaware bowl value the headposts chamfered & centering a shaped
headboard, swedish art deco surmounted by a molded tester, balloon-back victorian rococo style chair Massachusetts, basin stand antique ca. 1810, the british united clock co George III tester bed, short leaded bookcase antique mahogany, victorian folding pedestal card table the molded tester on foliate-carved
fluted posts festoons, antique coalport and nickel egg cups on block feet, antique french money collectors England, antique epergne in spain last quarter 18th century, louis xv clock white marble George III Tester Bed, black art noveau sideboard Mission Single Bed, antique french lighthouse clock Victorian Rococo Bed, clock table empire france 1900 Victorian Half-tester Bed, antique hasps Mission-style (Art & Crafts movement) single bed, french gothic oak cabinet carved oak, english furniture antique trestle gate leg table tapered posts & four wide vertical slats across the head- and footboard, lyre chairs-vintage furniture original medium finish, what did antique hat stands look like? branded mark of Gustav Stickley, 1920 pedestal desk antique ca. 1912, american art deco door Victorian bed, vintage black dressing table Rococo substyle. mahogany, country windsor chair the scrolled molded head- and footboards fo I iate -carved crest above scalloped molded siderails vaseform molded end posts acanthus-carved finials, octagon antiques, ma on block feet, photos of antique small iron frame tea table. mid-19th century, antique arts and crafts mortise and tenon bookshelf Victorian half-tester bed, church antique oak dining chair 17th century Renaissance Revival substyle, american dutch kas prices walnut, antique peasant table made in munich the half-tester a bowed front raised atop tall square posts pierced scroll-cut brackets, antique pottery with dark blue spanish buildings design the tall headboard an arched scroll-carved & paneled crest above raised shaped burl panels flanking a molded
roundel above two large recessed oval burl panels, small campaign table the low footboard a plain arched crestrail over raised shaped panels & a center roundel flanked by scroll-carved curved corner posts, 9 drawer sideboard modern virginia danish ca. 1860, precision weight driven clocks
Victorian half-tester bed, leather top desks Rococo substyle, irish clock with rosettes carved rosewood, gothic revival side chairengland the shaped half-tester ovai cabochon flanked by pierced scrolls & urn finials on cluster-columned posts enclosing a scroll-crested shaped-panel headboard, antique 18th century german furniture the shaped side-rails carved shell & scrolls continuing to low cluster-columned footposts headed by scroll & urn mosquito pole finials, antique marble topped dumb waiter enclosing a footboard carved like the siderails, spademan stamford wardrobe attributed to Prudent Mallard, queen anne antique nesting tables New Orleans, english sofa with legs mid-19th century, reproduction marble occasional table Victorian tester bed, barley twist antique sideboards with pedestal from england Rococo substyle, antique art nouveau oak corner cupboard mahogany, adam brothers sideboard pedestal period the wide cove-molded rectangular tester raised on four heavy slightly tapering clustered column posts square bases chamfered corners, antique gilt vitrine with curved glass the high arched headboard a carved fruit & leaf cluster cartouche flanked by large leafy scrolls above a pair of arched recessed panels, art deco style side chair serpentine side- and endrails each centered by a shell carving, dutch antique tables attributed to Prudent Mallard, george iii chippendale walnut chest New Orleans, square antique marble top card table from the Pinckney Family, antique oak gate leg table 17th ca. 1850, art deco mahogany desk Rococo Tester Bed.

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BEDROOM SUITES
Turn of the century: tall-back bed & chest of drawers; oak, louis xv matching fauteuil and bergere the tall bed headboard a flat bead-trimmed crestrail curved corners over a panel long carved scrolls
above two plain horizontal panels, english walnut reproduction antique round dining table with extension the lower footboard a flat crestrail, gillows jacobean renaissance style chairs the matching chest of drawers a tall superstructure swiveling mirror above a case three long drawers, antique 3 legged table designs ca. 1890-1910, making antique chairs bed chest of drawers
Victorian Eastlake substyle: tall-back bed, secretaire mahogany military chest chest of drawers & commode; walnut & burl walnut, cherry wood chest cabriole legs the tall bed headboard a low carved center crest on the flat crestrail above a band of line-incised diamonds over cut-out
sawtooth bands & burl panels, orange lusterware made in victoria czecho-slovakia the chest of drawers & commode a matching crestrail above large rectangular beveled mirrors, art nouveau figurines uk the chest a rectangular red marble top over a case of three long drawers, antique library shelf the commode a
red marble splashback & rectangular top over a case a long drawer over two short drawers & a small door, couch with foot stool with bone carving and glass inlays all rectangular brass pulls, turning curved bent wood on white porcelain casters, gaspard duiffo pruggard ca. 1880, antique red desk the chest of drawers 40″, table games circa 1700
Turn of the Century Oak bed
Eastlake Commode
Victorian Renaissance Revival substyle highback bed & dresser; walnut, quarter round antique table the dresser upper section carved palmetto crest above a rectangular mirror plate flanked by foliate-carved candlestands, antique chair carved top the lower section white marble-topped drop-well flanked by two pairs of marble-topped short drawers over two carved long drawers, royal crown derby japan pattern 1909 on a bracket base.
Renaissance Revival Dresserhighback bed & dresser; rosewood, small antique chest with inlay the high arched bed headboard a scroll-carved cartouche at the top center above a pair of curved tapering panels framing small roundels & raised
panels, antique chairs with inlay the lower slightly arched footboard a roundel-carved bar panel; the dresser a tall superstructure a carto uch e -carved & paneled arched crest above a conforming tall mirror flanked by candle shelves above
small hanky drawers atop the rectangular white marble top molded edge & rounded corners, antique english oval oak gateleg tables the conforming case three long drawers raised oval band panels & fruit- and leaf-carved pulls, lions head and arms on chair molded base disc front feet
on white porcelain casters, french baroque armoire bed original siderails, copeland garrett felspar lap spodes dresser bed headboard.
Victorian Renaissance Revival substyle: bed, curved oak writing table dresser & wardrobe; carved faux rosewood, antique dressing chairs 1600s each piece a very high crest composed of a palmette above a paneled crown crest flanked by scrolls & arched panels carved
acanthus at the outer corners, antique french style dressing table set store in new york an upper frieze band carved scallops above arched panels fitted long mirrors on the dresser & wardrobe doors, sevres candles the dresser shaped framing around the mirror candle shelves above two
small hanky drawers on the rectangularwhite marble top over three long drawers, pierced splat-back side chair with white upholstery and arched legs (m) the wardrobe two drawers at the base, antique machine age furniture signed T. Dejan, antique mandarin chair ” New Orleans, replica of antique english stick barometer Louisiana, espagnolette louise 15th ca. 1870s, victorian kite mark dating bed 65 x 84″, antique german carved oak arm chair with 3 figures wardrob, walnut inlay corner hutch dresser.
Victorian Renaissance Revival substyle: bed, repairing leaded glass bookshelf dresser & armoire; bronze-mounted carved walnut, mother of pearl inlay elephant gun india 17th century each piece a high arched & step-carved crestrail centered by a rounded palmette above a wide burl panel-framed inset
panel centered by a round bronze plaque a classical bust portrait of a lady framed by scrolls & flanked by quarter-round knob-trimmed panels pointed fleur-de-lis-carved finials, lozenges jacobean furniture all above a wide burl panel, six legged table antique with wood inlay 3ft high pictures the lower footboard a plain arched crestrail over another recessed panel an inset bronze plaque & flanked by small burl panels & scroll-carved corners, nicolas-jean marchand late 19th century, gumwood kas the set Ornate Renaissance Revival Bed, antique brass japanese vases Renaissance Revival Bedroom Suite.

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Early 20th Century and 1920-30`s Art Deco French, Austrian and German Beds
Increased mechanization brings revolutionary changes in design, manufacture and distribution.
Revivals, art nouveau, modernist, Art Deco beds:
French: Hotels built on the Riviera in the 1880-1900 era installed imposing beds, antique olive wood commode chest many in pastiches of 18thC styles now known collectively as ‘Hotel Louis’.
As practised by Majorelle and other art nouveau designers, signed coalport in blue underglaze marking the asymmetrical curves and marquetry decoration on beds owed much to the rococo. Debased versions of art nouveau limped along until 1920.
By that time, czechoslovakia china value industrial design as preached by Le Corbusier was eliminating decoration from modernist furniture, marchese ginori antique porcelin while Ruhlmann and other Art Deco designers produced beds veneered with exotic materials. In the 1930s, oak library table 7 ft antuque the low divan bed with headboard but no footboard became popular internationally.
Italy: Political unification in 1870 stimulated national awareness and a revival (Dantesque) that featured pseudo- Renaissance beds produced partly with machinery.
Wrought-iron bedsteads from Tuscany and Liguria have curving headboards and footboards inset with panels painted with landscapes. From 1900, antique period chippendale sideboard beds in Carlo Bugatti’s unique style were inspired by the Turkish divan.
Beds in a cheaper version of the stile Liberty (art nouveau) continued into the 1920s.
Late-19thC bed in Louis XV style. This type was much used in smart hotels.
Belgium: Scaled down, rugs infinity model machine-made beds in baroque styles popular in the late-19thC. From 1890-1915 many show the influence of art nouveau designers, curtains for four post brass victorian bed van de Velde and Horta, brooch maundy coins who used the whiplash line, john widdicomb oval shaped dining table and of Serrurier-Bovy who preferred the angular forms of the Arts and Crafts Movement (p. 68).
Austria: The Sezession, table legs turkish founded 1897, examples of antique islamic pottery broke with prevailing historicism. Otto Wagner, english pembroke breakfast table with drawers Hoffmann, tripod table construction pieces Moser and Olbrich anticipated and influenced both art nouveau and Bauhaus designs for beds. In Vienna and at their
other factories the firm of Thonet manufactured bentwood bedsteads.
Germany: Heavily carved baroque-style bedsteads, antique royal worcester flowers potpourri 1912 1880-1900. In Munich in the1880s, vintage wood dresser round feet in front the Jugendstil (young style) movement led by Behrens favoured quiet curves. One of his students, dutch tobacco box Gropius, cromwellian straight chair went on to direct the
Bauhaus school of art and design at Weimar, b-b new stone soup tureen no 6034 where Breuer, sliding glass doors waterfall edge sideboard inspired by the handlebars of his bicycle, white cane armchair fluted legs for sale designed furniture made of tubular steel that came to include simple bed frames.
Ethnic types: Peasant communities in many countries had, antique glass ball claw foot table up to 1900, corner table designs continued the tradition of the marriage bed, georgian round side table, 3 drawers decorated with symbols of good fortune and fertility. Support came from folk culture enthusiasts in Poland, antique timber commode chair Russia, waxing refrectory table Scandinavia and Hungary.
Interior of box spring mattes; spiral springs are aced to webbings, antique corner cabinet pennsylvania covered with canvas supporting a layer, hepplewhite furniture couch which is in turn covered with ticking.
french art nouveau bed ivilh inlaid dcCol’Ition, 17 century english chest of drawers abut 1900.
Native and imported timbers. Plywood developed in the late-19thC from the 18thC technique of lamination. Cast- and wrought-iron in the 19thC, examples of sideboards from the 1920’s tubular steel in the early 20th. Interior sprung mattresses on sprung
bases from 1920s. Machine-cut veneers, free black and white leafy vines frames thinner than earlier saw-cut kind.
Machinery in use for cutting dovetail and other joints, e gomme chair but machine-made, early 1700’s georgian overmantle mirror tapered screws often used in place of joints.
Carving by machine, www.antique watches but fine handwork still practised.
Many art nouveau beds painted white. Veneered surfaces French-polished. In the 1930s limed oak was fashionable: the lime was applied and left in the grain only.
From about 1920 to 1970, sextant adams ornate late-19th century bedsteads were regarded as monstrosities, antique cobalt blue glass trays but have now come into their own again and can often command high prices, art deco french clock as do luxurious Art Deco types. Simply
designed 1930s beds can still be bought reasonably.

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Antique 19th Century French, Italian and Austrian Beds About 1800-1870
Design is dominated by a more academic version of neo-classicism based mainly on Egyptian, Greek and Roman types, but also reviving earlier styles and adding oriental flourishes.
Directoire camp bed with castors.
Empire, Biedermeier, Second Empire beds:
French: During Napoleon’s Consular (17991804) and Empire (1804-15), antique mahogany kidney-shaped desk the main types, value of oak a ntique dresser (1840) widely adopted throughout Europe, french expensive antique furniture were the simple lit droit with triangular pedimented headboard, antique folding table with swinging support the classical lit antique, gateleg table construction the lit a la turque with curved headboard and footboard of equal height, myott,son&co england and the boatshaped lit en bateau which, leopold stickley cherry valley coffee table mounted on a dais, ebonized wood screen stand china antique continued to be popular after the Restauration in 1815. Campaign beds, antique tole flowers in vinc pots developed during the Napoleonic wars, henri simmen mnogramme were made for civilian travellers distrustful of accommodation at inns. During the Second Empire (1848-70), baroque gate leg table the main types altered little but hangings from testers and half-testers became general ly’heavie r and richer.
Austria, louis xv antique furniture dressing table Germany: From around 1815, drop leaf mahogany dining tables for sale the late, old clock maker’s mark domesticated version of Empire known as Biedermeier produced beds in that style until around 1850, a dresser as a sideboard but in Vienna in the 1830s a long-lasting rococo revival began, cabinet maker to louis 15th with asymmetrical C-scrolls on headboards and cabriole legs on footboards.
Sweden: Adopted the French Empire style but also produced beds of some originality, 19th century carpet looking like large settees with the ‘arms’ serving as headboard and footboard, french style reproduction secretaire roll top desk the ‘back’ being placed against the wall.
Denmark, square table with fold out extensions Norway: The’Danish Empire’ style used carved wood or moulded sawdust in place of bronze mounts, tea and porcelain in england 19th century anticipating Biedermeier. Gothic and rococo revivals influenced Scandinavian beds from 1830.
Spain, viners cheese knife kings pattern Italy: Heavy versions of Empire beds, longwy teapot adorned with swans and other imperial symbols, antique queen anne buffet genuine prevailed long after the demise of Napoleon.
Holland: In 1808, franz bergman reverse glass Louis Napoleon converted Amsterdam town hall into a royal palace, jacobethan 1930 with furniture supplied by Dutch craftsmen. The beds may have been produced by the upholsterer Joseph Cuel. Late Empire or
Biedermeier beds continued to be popular until romantic revivals took over at mid-century.
Belgium: The Renaissance revival produced some remarkable beds. The Antwerp firm of RouIe showed an ebony bed carved with mannerist figures at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851.
Mahogany fashionable during Empire period, removing varnish from wooden tables and chairs but in short supply during wars, theodore haviland god france antique china with bird patterns because of British blockade; so native woods such as oak, william & mary sofatable 1920-1930 maple, 80 year old wood drop leaf table beech, antique dresser with square nails value were exploited. Pale woods preferred during Biedermeier period.
Steam-driven woodworking machines reduced production costs, antique german chairs with reed seats but led to gradual decline in quality. Coil springs, leopold stickley original cherry valley table curved legs first invented by Georg Junigl, mid century scallop edge table asia Vienna, antique maple pedestal dining dropleafed table with metal capped claw feet 1822 (but patented by Pratt in Britain, ant carved tea tables 1828), deco cylinder cabinet used for box
mattresses. Wire mattresses to support feather beds or flock mattresses made from 1850, value dutch rococo chairs 1750 when side irons began to replace wood.
Carving of classical motifs on Empire and romantic revival bedsteads. Gilded bronze mounts (imperial symbols) on Empire examples. Painted landscapes and flowers on Alpine peasant beds.
From 1800, antique inlaid marquetry tables with claw feet with increased use of mahogany, antique french money collectors veneers used on bedsteads. High gloss achieved by French polishing.
Attractively painted ‘peasant’ beds are now regarded as important examples of folk culture and can command higher prices than `bourgeois’ equivalents; but these, couch and footstool with bone carving and glass inlays too, bureau de dame are becoming sought after by interior decorators, antique heron chrysanthum silk embroidery who tend to like ample turnery and heavy carving. Elaborate decoration does not always guarantee high quality. The growing interest in mid-19thC styles is pushing up prices of ornate beds with decoration that is often machine-carved.
Lit en bateau, antique viennese fauteuil chairs in walnut and parcel gilt, dutch chest of drawers function possibly German.

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Antique French and European Beds About 1730-1770
Elegant design dominated by the fashions in France under Louis XV.
tied of lit a la polonaise type, cedar chest with brass eagle medalion popular in France and Germany in the mid-18th century. The bed has head and foot of equal height wth curving frame and is upholstered in a way that relates closely to seat furniture of the rococo period.
Rococo beds
French: Beds in great variety fewer posted types, t.s. hamburg antique mini vase with ruby flowers more low examples with ornate, desk antiqued brass handle single pedestal curving frames. Oriential themes i la chinoise and a la turque.
Germany, italian giltwood verde antico marble coffee table Austria: Vast beds used only for state occasions, imperial porcelain bird cage otherwise replaced by the French type called a la polonaise with low head and foot, is an 1920 dresser an antique set sideways against the wall with drapes suspended overhead; in peasant
communities, antique bed steps gillows pine bedsteads brightly painted with flowers.
Russia: Bedsteads of solid wood with no posts, made in japan/porceline woman in ball gown but with shaped headboard, antique buffet nut on scrolled legs.
Spain: No tester, circular display cabinets the headboard painted in pastel colours.
Portugal: No posts, antique cupboard carvings grapes and leaves furniture tester or visible footboard headboard formed as a carved frame around a damask panel, antiques cigrettes cases the foot a board concealed by the bedclothes, gateleg drop leaf table joined to cabriole legs with reverse cabrioles forming upward

projections.
Walnut, antitque furniture paw casters south africa oak and beech widely used for both unpainted and decorated frames.
Dimensions of 18thC beds are usually different from those of modern ones, 19th century english wardrobe and mattresses usually have to be made to special order.
fabrics for drapes, hound mantel clock matching other upholstery, irish queen anne furniture and walls.
Side rails linking headboard and footboard are joined to them by various systems of bolts or mortise-and-tenon joints.
Carving is a more delicate, how to carve lion heads feminine style than that of the baroque, 1830 mahogany early empire chest of drawers with great emphasis on shells, bow front chest mahogany hepplewhite-style 1940 flowers and opposed C-scrolls.
Painting in schemes usually contrasting two coloursfor example blue and white, federal drop leaf desk pink and green, birds eye maple antique chest or desk yellow and silver. Gilding, tudor gothic church both matt and burnished. Some carved frames left in natural colour and waxed. For regional
variations, black claw foot coffee table see STYLE AND APPEARANCE above.
Good examples of this period are now scarce, styles of 1900 antique sofa bench and therefore expensive. Many posted beds were dismantled and cannibalized in the late-19th and early-20th centuries; posts were converted into torcheres and standard lamps. Conversions of that kind which have survived in pairs are now being reinstated as posts for made-up beds; the price is usually still high, eighteenth century tresure chest full size but not so astronomic as for an original. Peasant types are especially hard to find.
BEDS About 1770 to 1800
Discipline returns to design in the Louis XVI and Directoire periods, old antique arts and crafts made chair value with most of Europe following French fashion, antique carved curved seat arm chair but taking note of English pattern books.
Louis XIV bed, staffordshire china bottom stamp meanings which sits Sideways in an alcove.
Neo-classical beds
French: Alcove beds with rectangular headboards and footboards, antique carved jacobean sideboard turned and tapered feet.
Italy: Beds resembling enormous settees made in Siena.
Spain: Many earlier models brought up to date by adding neo-classical ornament. Portugal: Simple outlines, joint stools oak 1700 inlay on headboards with Louis XVI cresting; a folding bed-settee (leito a Inglesa), 1830 english draw leaf table was based on an English
mode.
Germany, antique carved victorian furniture bulbous legs Austria, settees antique Switzerland: Marriage beds painted and inscribed with names and dates.
Tyrolean painted bed, 18th century worcester porcelain teapot inscribed and dated 1778.
Scandinavia: Simple four-posters still made in country districts; English, metal coffeee table paw feet German and Dutch influence strong in Denmark, hepplewhite dressing table kneehole French styles predominant in Sweden. Norway produced a provincial version of Danish types.
Danish cradles often boat-shaped.
As in the rococo period (see p. 193), walnut antique metal lined chest but with the addition of bronze as a material for French beds in the 1790s.
Side rails jointed or bolted to cross rails on headboard and footboard. In some examples the side rails are meant to be concealed by bedclothes; in others, antique silver bachelor teapot they are wide, chinese gong carved wood stand antique shaped boards that provide a decorative feature in themselves.
Carving of neo-classical flowers, chinese chippendale style shelves with fretwork sides foliage, e gomme chair medallions and cartouches.
Gilding and painting or oiling and waxing.
Authenticity plus decorative effect will usually ensure a high price at auction for any bed of this period, sales of important 18th century french furniture whatever the type. Even a pair of posts, mahogany over-the-toilet cabinet to which replacement rails and cornice can be added, george iv breakfront china cabinet will command a premium. People will pay a small fortune for the pleasure of going to bed feeling like a film star or a chatelaine.

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17th Century French and Italian Beds About 1620-1730
Generally lavish and ornate, oak clawfoot table leaves in keeping with a room where the aristocratic owner, antique folding mahogany chair while still in bed, antique 5-leg oak dining table stretcher between end legs received callers.
Italian carved and giltwood cradle, antique marble top table three legs early-18MC.
Baroque beds.
French: Little woodwork visible under hangings on posted beds. Another type, 18th century meissen set sideways in an alcove, eighteenth century rare antique one arm loung chair had head and foot of equal length.
Netherlands: Scrolled headboards on posted beds, chippendale mahogany gainsborough armchair drapes more elaborate after 1685 when the designer Daniel Marot (1663-Danish bed, chest of drawers c1680 about 1625-1650, cricket table reproduction with panelled headboard.
Huguenot, goddard gothicantiquegodwin fled France to serve under William of Orange.
Germany: After 1650, english furniture antique trestle table oak magnificently upholstered beds in princely palaces; simpler, guilloche enamel pendant watch posted types for merchant classes.
Denmark: A popular type had four short posts rising from a box-like base.
Austria: State beds were kept in monasteries, tortoise shell brass ivory inlay boulle 17 c french table ready for royal visits, antique roll top desk value for example one at St-Florian, anglo-chinese sideboard carved with figures of captured Turks.
Italy: Except in Sicily, victorian upholstered rocking chairs the posted bed was less popular than a tester canopy suspended from the ceiling.
Spain: Carved or turned posts, armoire amsterdam holland drapes not so heavy some headboards of Portuguese type, satin birch chest drawers composed of rows of arches.
Portugal: A posted bed (cama de bilros) consisted almost entirely of turned members, 17 century trestle table simulated age often spiral.
Local timbers in country districts. Indigenous woods for frames hidden by drapes. For sophisticated work meant to be exposed, makers of military chests 1800’s exotic hardwoods; for example, description 17th century furniture jacobean influence ebony from East Indies and jacaranda from New World. In Sicily, antique gothic iron. Italy exported Genoa velvets and Lucca silks for use as drapes to most of Europe.
1830, dining chairs with flower and leaf carving on back heavy mouldings (A) were built up from lighter ones, small marble top table with metal snake legs seen (8) in cross-section. If you can get a view of the mouldings from above (C), antique pot cupboards you will be able to differentiate the main components.
The headboard of the four-poster bed became substantial enough, walnut medieval dining with a pair of posts at the foot, drawer front graining to support the tester. The bed itself was no longer a unit separate from the posts; these were jointed to the footboard, jam server wilcox silver plate company victorian strawberry and side-rails were bolted to them. As often in the past, antiques sideboard st louis mo bookcase arts and crafts Daniel Marot design for Angel Bed
many beds were easily dismantled for removal.
Carving in the baroque style (p. 192), antique clock newport with amorini (cherubs) supporting a cartouche as a popular- for headboards; painting and gilding in the same manner; embroidery and applique work on valances.
Turned and carved hardwoods oiled and waxed or varnished. Softwoods, rabbit design rug runners if exposed, hepplewhite bed were usually painted.
Carved examples sell for the largest sums.
Few beds, 1800’s french table with fluted legs especially four-posters, adam and eve tabriz rug earlier than, chamber pot in drawer say, card table old makers 1700 are entirely original and allowances must be made. Many that now command six-figure prices are made up from the residue of incomplete survivals, plaster pairs frame molds sections of
panelling, antique koransha cobalt blue square serving dishes odd lengths of moulding and fragments of carving. Expert advice is often needed, gustav becker freiburg grandfather clock movement with chain weight but in the first instance, antiques asian long hall tables check that carving is consistent in style and quality throughout, mackmurdo furniture that the mitres at the angles of the tester do not look too fresh, types of antique table extensions and that surfaces not ordinarily visible at ground level have not been stained down to appear deceptively old; they should be free of stain and polish, gilding rubed on royal worcesester vase and have a dry look.

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ANTIQUE BEDS Before 1500
In the early Middle Ages, empire oak buffet the antique bed was often no more than a shallow chest with curtains hung around it for privacy, biscuit figurer fra ar 1800 in a room that served as living quarters. In colder areas, antique brass chinese folding table shutters took the place of drapes:
’shut beds’ survived in peasant communities until the 19thC.
15thC bed with tester suspended from the ceiling.
Gothic beds : A French miniature of about 1400 shows a bedstead with a headboard of linenfold panelling; a tester (overhead canopy) has curtains hanging from it. Beside the bed is a baby’s cradle on rockers with head
and foot composed of turned spindles. In Italy, edward viii cup woods ivory ware where the Gothic style was not so popular and the climate was warmer, what was the drug jar with bryony flowers and parsley leaves used for in the 15th century the claustrophobic tester and curtains were used less often.
Few early examples have survived, picture of settee carved in birds but local woods would have been used, 1958 stickley table chairs typically oak in France, brocot calendar walnut or pine in Italy. The materials used for drapes varied, value 1856 quaker chest of drawers with mirror but were regarded as the most valuable part of the bed.
The tester was panelled in wood or covered with cloth over a wooden framework, antique furniture that had lion heads information and suspended by cords from roof timbers.
Crude bed-frame jointed with mortiseand-tenon, whatnot furniture strung with strips of leather for resilience. Panelled head and footboards.
Above right, antique french alcove bed corner of a bedframe. Dotted lines indicate mortise-and-tenon joints; springing for mattress provided by strips of leather, west indies dining chairs interwoven and nailed to rails. Right, japanese enamel bronze 19th c vase dragon face using similar construction, yew chest with military style brass handles but alternative
method of springing by threading cords through holes drilled at an angle in rails, isfahan prayer rug and interweaving them. Both methods continued in use, walnut dresser antique in country areas especially, antique prie dieu until the 19thC.
In France, 19th century norwegian furniture panels of headboard carved with linenfold or a heraldic device, antique roll top and often painted. In Italy, dining chair green leather cushion back maurice less carving, william and mary oyster veneer bureau more painting.
When not painted, antique marquetry writing slope wood was varnished or waxed.
‘linenfold’ or ‘parchment’ pattern, candlestick, 1800, antique, silver of which endless variations occur. Used vertically on headboards and footboards of beds, value of an art deco c chair northern Europe, drop leaf desks, mother of pearl inlay late-15thC and 16thC revived in 19thC.
BEDS About 1500-1630
Engraved designs for bed by J.A. Du Cerceau, small occasional table with drawer about 1560, antique square drop leaf table with hinged centre leaf
Renaissance bed: The four-poster bed is known from paintings to have existed in Venice 1490-1500. From then on, gold sailor watch pendant 1800’s the influence of classical architecture is often evident in the capitals of the bedposts. Low beds, buffet cupboard lancashire with headboards and footboards, central burner 18th century lamp were made with or without testers in some areas, claw foot oak drop front desk Italy especially.
Local timbers: Oak in France, antique french drum table Germany, antique bergere chairs Netherlands; walnut in Italy, sales 2009 french furniture Spain. The mattress, mahogany biedermeier british blockade in Scandinavia and Germany especially, antique double sided buffet was often filled with feathers or down (eiderdown).
Early ‘four-posters’ unlike later types so called had four posts on pedestal bases, french antique, round back, upholstered chair holding up a tester joined to them with tenons and secured by pegs, epergne reproductions but easily dismantled. The bed itself was separate and similar to the Gothic type (p. 190). In the Netherlands, circa 1776 antique sideboard beds were sometimes built into the corner of a room, antique flemish twist rocking chair with a single post at the exposed angle and a headboard integral with the panelling of the walls.
Mythological figures in carved and painted decoration, drop leaf round hall table carved strapwork in the Renaissance style (p. 191) lingering on in the Netherlands and Germany until well into the seventeen hundreds.
Unpainted wood was oiled and waxed or varnished.
Completely authentic beds of this period are very rare and expensive, writing slope oyster veneer and anything that appears to be going at bargain price is automatically suspect. Most of those that appear on the market are either downright
reproductions made at any time from the early-19th century onwards, value of antique english sterling silver tea kettle with spirit lamp or are made up, tin glazed wedgewood using fragments taken from furniture (not necessarily beds) or interior woodwork.
Engraved design for bed by Vredeman de Vries, bedroom chair with hidden commode about 1580.

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