Model of a four poster bed, wood and cardboard, silk damask and silk dupion, manufactured by Heal & Son Ltd., with silk damask woven by Warners Ltd., British 1977.

A model for a four poster bed, the posts of square section below, turned above, the headboard and foot board of plain, rectangular form, the tester with a would-be bolection moulding. The whole bed is close covered, either with a silk damask in pale blue, or with a pale blue silk dupion that lines the tester, curtains and valances and covers the posts and head and foot boards. The bed rails are covered in damask. A short, approx 19.5 cm deep, head cloth is deeply gathered. This and the back of the headboard are lined with off-white sateen curtain lining. A panel covered with pale blue silk dupion is set into the top of the tester. Attached to the tester are three valances with shaped lower edges, one on each side, continuing round onto the head of the bed, and one at the foot, joined at the corners above the foot posts. The headboard, covered in dupion, is set with a panels of damask in three widths while the foot board has an inset panel covered in damask, within a framing covered in the same textile. Inside the tester the dupion lining is pleated into a central padded roundel. Running round the tester on all four sides are festoon curtains drawn right up and positioned slightly in from the sides to reveal a plain flat surface.

The four poster bed, of which this is the model, was designed by Charles Gage of the Heal Design Unit, from an idea by Frederick Wheeler, Director of Heal Beds, Bedding, Upholstery and Curtain-Making Division, to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977. The full size bed, on display in Heal's, Tottenham Court Road, from June 1977, was for sale, with two step-in stools, two circular bedside tables covered in the same damask, two sets of bed linen and goose down filled pillows, for £30,000. According to Robin Hartley of Beds & Bedding, Heal's, Tottenham Court Road, it was still unsold in January 1978.

The Heal Apprentice of the Year was responsible for the model. Heal's of Guildford organised a special Jubilee Draw in 1977 and the model was part of the prize, won by Mrs. A. Reid who subsequently sold the model to the Museum.

The silk, 'Oxford Damask', was inspired by the roses, pomegranates and laurels on the robes in Carlo Crivelli's painting, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, of 1477 (National Gallery). It was first woven by Warners in 1900.

The four-poster bed, of which this is the model, was designed and made by Heal & Son Ltd. to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.

This is the model of the four poster bed designed and made by Heal & Son Ltd to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977. Heals, originally founded in 1810 as makers of feather mattresses by John Harris Heal, have always specialised in beds and bedding. The Jubilee four-poster bed emphasized the traditional skills of those involved in the construction of the frame, damask curtains and valances, and the bedding, which included hair and sprung mattresses and goose-down pillows. The scale model, which is a much simplified version of the full-size bed, without working curtains or removable covers, revived the tradition of Heal's apprentices making miniature versions of furniture. It is covered in the same 'Oxford' damask, woven by Warner & Sons, as the full-size bed. Offered as first prize in a Jubilee draw arranged by Heal's branch in Guildford in 1977, the model bed was bought from the prize winner by the Museum.

W.4:1-2-1978