A George IV Brass Four Poster Bed (c. 1825 England)

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72.80inch wide    108.30inch high    84.60inch deep (184.91 cm wide  275.08 cm high  214.88 cm deep)

Condition report on request.

A George IV lacquered brass four-poster bed, the four reeded posts cast with inverted lotus leaves, surmounted by similarly-cast finials and resting on large, spoked castors.

Re-upholstered throughout in Persian red and pale lemon coloured silk.

The use of bold inverted lotus leaves as sculptural decoration to each of the four posts are distinct features of furnishings from this period and in particular the designs of George Bullock (1782/3 - 1818) Bullock was one of the most important furniture makers involved in the re-flowering of Greek and Roman taste in the early nineteenth century. He moved from Liverpool to 4 Tenterden St. Hanover Square, London in 1812, where he had an established business as a sculptor, modeller and cabinet-maker. His patrons included Sir Walter Scott for Abbotsford in the Scottish borders, Matthew Boulton at Great Tew Park, Oxfordshire and the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte's house on the island of St Helena.

The impressive height of this grand example indicates that it was commissioned to take advantage of the full height of the intended bedroom's ceiling space. The four poster's long history in England had made it an ideal furnishing item for the display of lavish bed hangings, that provided a spectacle for the room and very nescessary protection against draughts. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, various alternatives on the theme became more popular, for example the tent or field bed, the campaign bed and the French style, that involved curtains draped from a fixed pole above the bed or rich hangings from a domed tester. A considerable change in construction took place from the 1820's with the use of cast iron and polished brass as the favoured materials, replacing carved or painted posts.