Bed curtain
Category
Textiles
Date
circa 1710
Materials
Hair, Metal, Textile, Wood
Collection
Clandon Park, Surrey
On show at
Not on show
NT 1440847.4
Caption
A noble bedstead with a gruesome end...the state bed in the State Bedroom at Clandon Park was made around 1710, probably by a royal craftsman. In 1778 it was said to be ‘A noble costly Bedstead with Hangings beautifully worked in a great variety of Colours lined with Sattin and superbly finished’. At some stage the bed was reduced in height and converted into a four-poster. The last guest to sleep in the bed in 1791 was the Princesse de Lamballe, a friend of Queen Marie-Antoinette, who was hacked to pieces by a mob during the French Revolution. The ultimate status symbol, this bed and its en suite chairs and curtain pelmets were made in anticipation of a royal visit to the Onslow family. It is entirely covered in richly coloured embroidery and hand made tassles and fringes, known as passementerie decoration. The survival of this fragile suite of furniture over 300 years is testament to how much it was treasured by the family.
Summary
[Salvaged] Bed curtain from state bedstead with shaped side canopy, the underside moulded and carved and decorated with applied red braid, the back similar with design of columns and scrolls, the canopy and foot covered in hand-made tapestry ornamented with tasselled braid. Two pairs of curtains of hand-made tapestry heavily decorated with floral and foliage motifs braided and lined. Box spring and hair mattress. The shaped ends of the tester at the back have been removed. (Probably originally a flying tester bed, the poles added and the height of the bed reduced.21.10.75)