The so-called 'Cut Velvet Bed'
possibly Vile & Cobb
Date
circa 1750
Materials
Velvet, Oak, Metal, Silk
Measurements
422 x 187 x 216 cm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire
NT 1127838
Summary
The so-called 'Cut Velvet' Bed, English, circa 1750, noted by Geoffrey Beard as after a design by John Vardy [1718 - 1765] of 1749. Seen at Chatsworth in 1766 by the first Duchess of Northumberland who recorded it in her travel diary as by 'Cobb & Vile'. They entered into partnership in 1751, so it is probable that this bed and its upholstery date to the first half of the 1750s. Probably brought from Chatsworth to Hardwick by the 6th Duke in the 1820s. A pair of chairs [NT 1127929.1 & 2] and a stool [NT 1127832] upholstered in matching fabric.The fabric cut velvet in a pattern of pink flowers and green scrolls and acanthus fronds, and comprising a tester with three broken scroll pediments centred by rocaille and acanthus framing a ducal coronet, above brown silk-edged valances, the ceiling with a coved oval centre framing a patera, the headboard of elaborately arched form and topped by a double scallop shell, framing a further ducal coronet. The posts of oak, the side rails of oak, and with castors.
Provenance
Noted as at Chatsworth in 1766, and presumably brought to Hardwick by the 6th Duke in the 1820s. By descent until, following the death of Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire (1895 - 1950), Hardwick Hall and its contents were accepted by HM Treasury in part payment of death duties and transferred to the National Trust, in 1959.
Makers and roles
possibly Vile & Cobb, cabinet maker after John Vardy, (Durham 1718 - London 1765), designer
References
Beard, 1997: Geoffrey Beard. Upholsterers and interior furnishing in England, 1530-1840. Bard studies in the decorative arts. New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 1997., p. 194