Tester bed
Date
1550 - 1850
Materials
Oak
Measurements
2640 x 1500 mm; 2080 mm (L)
Order this imageCollection
Rufford Old Hall, Lancashire
NT 784054
Summary
Carved oak tester bed, mid-19th century, reusing earlier pieces; headboard dated 1660 with carved scrollwork, grotesque masks and gadrooning, the upper part inset with a pair of carved Adoration panels (shepherds left, kings right), separated by spiral split-turning, the lower part of the headboard with three marquetry panels of vases of flowers, two in round-headed frames flanking a rectangular panel and separated by caryatids; tester cornice and frieze dated 1660 and carved with lions, birds, cherubs, fruit, swags and scrollwork; footboard incorporating a carved 16th-century panel of Minerva and her two bridled lions; foot posts of 16th-century cup-and-cover carving surmounted by later spiral-twist columns; tester ceiling made up of 18th-century shutter panels framing a 16th-century painted panel of the coat of arms of Thomas Asshaw (1514-81) of Hall o' th' Hill, Chorley.
Provenance
On loan from Speke Hall, for which it was acquired between 1855 and 1865 by the Watt family.