Curtain
Category
Textiles
Date
1680
Materials
Metal, Silk, Velvet
Measurements
2270 mm (H)2820 mm (W)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Dunham Massey, Cheshire
NT 932682.7
Caption
State bed dating from the 1680s, recently restored to splendour. Thought to have been made for the Duchess of Somerset's third marriage, it was bequeathed to her great nephew, George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington. The present oak bed frame was made by Kevin Jones in 2004, a copy of the original bed frame of which tester boards and three posts remain in store at Dunham Massey. The crimson silk velvet bed was treated by the family as an heirloom, hence its remarkable survival and that of the majority of the original hangings.
Summary
State bed curtain end. Fabric, dark red jaspe silk velvet, yellow shot silk weft and warp, red cut pile; Lining, gold silk weft of heavier count unbalanced plain weave 'taffeta'; Trimming, (b) tasseled braid 50 mm, yellow and red warp, tarnished metal thread on silk core (holding tassels together), yellow and red silk weft loops, yellow silk wrapped gimp waved, tassels, yellow, black and red silk, (c) tasseled braid 25-28 mm, as above except that waved gimp is yellow and red; Structure, handsewn hooks or rings (?) removed, edged on three sides, with vertical decorated seam.