Physical description
Tall tester bed with an oak frame, rectangular in form, with hangings, linings and covers of Italian crimson silk damask brocaded with gold thread, trimmed with gold braid. The tester is enclosed by flat upper valances, below a curved cornice. At the four corners of the cornice are plumes of grey and white ostrich feathers rising from silk-covered wooden urns. The four feet are carved in openwork with angular scrolls, painted black.
The curtains, upper and lower valances and counterpane are trimmed with gold fringing. The flat headboard, with a scrolling top, is lined with matching silk damask and fringing. Behind the headboard is hung a headcloth of matching silk damask. The interior of the tester is domed, the joins trimmed with braid, with four short scalloped inner valances attached to each long side. The outer valances, hung from the lower edge of the cornice, are plain and rectangular, trimmed along the straight lower edge with fringing. The lower valances, attached to the bed rails, are in two parts, a plain rectangular panel, below which hangs a scalloped edging strip attached separately.
The curtains have been made into four sections in the 20th century, hanging at each corner and reaching half way down the lower valances.
[Bed post] long round post, with a spike at the top end, and a hole at the other to take the tenon projecting from the foot. at the base, two vertical mortices to take the tenons of the bed slats. Hooks at the top to take the curtain rails.
[Bed post] Round bed post, with an iron spike at the top to take the tester and a tenon at the bottom to take the dowel projecting from the foot. Hooks at the top to take the curtain rods.
[Bed rail] bed rail in a single piece for proper right of bed with small shelf for bed slats on inside face, with tack holes and fragments of hessian. On outside two strips of braid with pieces of velcro attached in short lengths and some old metal hooks.
[Bed rail] Rectangular oak bedrail for proper left of bed, with tenons at each end, with metal bolts projecting to fit into bed posts. On the outside face, two strips of braid, one with short sections of velcro tacked on at intervals, and original hooks. On the inside face, a shelf for supporting the bedslats, and many tack holes with fragments of hessian trapped under.
[Cornice] Rectangular framwork of oak supporting curved cornice of pine, lined with silk damask and edged with gold braid. Attached to the headboard end are two iron brackets to take outer case curtains. Strips of velcro are tacked onto earlier braid around the lower edge to take the outer valances.
[Tester] Rectangular framework with arched metal rods at the top supporting the domed ceiling. The ceiling lined with silk trimmed with gold braid on the inside, and canvas on the upper side. Scalloped valances hang from all four lower edges. The valance at the headboard end is edged with gold braid. Each corner of the framework has a hole to take the iron rod at the top of each bed post. A row of nine evenly spaced hooks are attached to the head end to take the head-cloth.
[Headboard] Shaped headboard lined with silk damask on front side.
[Foot] walnut, carved in openwork and painted with two coats of black paint. A peg protrudes from the top to fit into the bed posts. Woodwormed.
[Foot] As for 8/1
[Foot] As for 8/1
[Foot] As for 8/1
[Spacer] wood spacer, hexagonal, with hole through middle to take spike, one of four made to raise cornice above tester. 20th century.
[Spacer] As for 19
[Spacer] As for 19
[Spacer] As for 19
[Spacer] Wood spacer, 20th century, hexagonal with a projection at one end, with a hole through the middle to take spike supporting feathers. To raise feathers above cornice.
[Spacer] As for 23
[Spacer] As for 23
[Spacer] As for 23
[Spike] Metal spike, 20th century, to take feathers
[Spike] As for 27
[Spike] As for 27
[Spike] As for 27
[Bed post] Round bed post, with an iron spike at the top to take the tester, and two mortices at the bottom to take the bed rails. Two iron hooks at the top to take the curtain rails. One side has a slot to take the headboard.
[Bed rail] Rectangular oak bed rail for head end of bed, with tenons at each end with metal bolts projecting, and on the inside face a metal shoe for supporting cross-batten for bed slats.
[Bed post] Round bed post, with an iron spike at the top to take the tester, and two mortices at the bottom to take the bed rails. Two hooks at the top to take the curtain rails. One side has a slot to take the headboard.
[Bed rail] Rectangular oak bed rail, for bottom end of bed, with wide tenon at each end to fit into bed posts, with metal bolts projecting. Two strips of braid attached on outside face, one strip with short sections of velcro attached. On the inside face a metal shoe attached for supporting cross-batten for bed slats.
Place of Origin
Great Britain, UK (possibly, made)
France (possibly, made)
Date
1670-1697 (made)
Materials and Techniques
Silk damask brocaded with gold thread, on a frame of oak and pine, with carved walnut feet painted black and finials of ostrich and egret feathers
Dimensions
Height: 321 cm to top of cornice, Height: 79 cm from top of cornice to top of feathers, Length: 205 cm, Width: 160 cm
[Bed post] Height: 271.6 cm without spike, Height: 18.6 cm spike, Diameter: 6.7 cm
[Bed post] Height: 271.6 cm without spike, Height: 18.6 cm spike, Diameter: 6.7 cm
[Bed rail] Length: 186 cm, Width: 10.8 cm, Depth: 4.2 cm
[Bed rail] Length: 186.3 cm to end of tenons, Width: 11 cm, Depth: 4.5 cm
[Cornice] Length: 204 cm, Width: 171 cm, Depth: 13 cm
[Tester] Length: 193.8 cm, Width: 152.2 cm, Depth: 30 cm
[Foot] Height: 16.5 cm without peg, Height: 9.5 cm peg, Width: 20 cm maximum, Depth: 14 cm maximum
[Spacer] Length: 12.6 cm
[Spacer] Length: 9.5 cm
[Spike] Length: 27.5 cm
[Bed post] Height: 271.6 cm without spike, Height: 18.6 cm spike, Diameter: 6.7 cm
[Bed rail] Length: 145 cm, Width: 11 cm, Depth: 4.5 cm
[Bed post] Height: 271.6 cm without spike, Height: 18.6 cm spike, Diameter: 6.7 cm
[Bed rail] Length: 144.6 cm, Width: 10.9 cm, Depth: 4.5 cm
Object history note
The bed was first recorded at Boughton House, Northamptonshire, in an inventory dated 1697 of the goods of Ralph Montagu. It was made between 1678 and 1697; its exact origin and date of manufacture remain uncertain, owing to an absence of other documentary evidence. Stylistic dating does not provide a clear answer as it has elements of the styles of the 1670s and the 1690s.
Ralph Montagu inherited Boughton House, Northamptonshire, from his father the 2nd Lord Montagu in 1684. Montagu spent a period of exile in France but returned on the accession of William III and was reappointed Master of the Royal Wardrobe, a position he had held under Charles II. He then extended the family seat in Northamptonshire in readiness for a royal visit King William dined at Boughton in October 1695 but the household accounts indicate that the State Apartments were not complete at that time.The King did not sleep at Boughton. The bed was certainly in place in the state bedchamber in1697 when it was described as 'In ye BedChamber A Crimson gold flowerd damask bed gold fring all Round feet coopes & fethers to ye bed & all things belonging as a thick quilt a holond quilt a fether bed & a bolster 2 blankets..' There is no surviving payment for the bed but in June 1705 the leading French upholsterer Francis Lapiere was paid £6.0.0 'for taking a crimson & gold damask bed all to pieces & new making it up again to go to Boughton'.
The quality of the brocade used for the Boughton bed ensured its survival. It is listed in later inventories of Boughton House. An inventory of 1709 lists the additions by Lapiere including a case rod and curtains. By 1827 the hangings were described as much decayed. The bed was given to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1916 as 'the old bed in which William III is supposed to have slept'. The bed was displayed at the Museum until the 1970s, when the upholstery received extensive conservation. The hangings were pieced together in a different formation to use the best preserved parts, doing away with the corner 'bonegraces' at the two end posts and forming four large curtains. The bed was again on display for a few years until the mid 1980s. Further conservation work was undertaken between 1999 and 2002 in preparation for the return of the bed on long-term loan to Boughton House. It was sent back in May 2003.
Notes from R.P. 2841/16
3 April 1916 letter, Buccleuch to Cecil Smith
offers "the old bed in which William III is supposed to have slept". He suggests that it might not be "of sufficient interest to occupy the large space that it requires…measuring height 14', length 7', width 6'".
4 April 1916 response, Smith
accepts the bed stating "it will be of the greatest possible value to the Museum".
Further April correspondence
puts off collection of the bed until after Buccleuch has left Boughton in July as he "may be saved sundry remarks from members of (his) family".
15 May 1916 minute paper, Cecil Smith
reports on a visit from the Duke of Buccleuch who again mentioned giving the William III bed to the Museum. No action is to be taken until he writes to say he is ready to make the gift.
23 August 1916 memo, O Brackett
reports that the Duke of Buccleuch has given permission to send for the bedstead at Boughton.
31 August 1916 transit room receipt
notes condition "woodwork worm-eaten (especially feet) brocade worn".
31 August 1916 Gift form, lists the bed
see attached.
4 September 1916 minute paper, O Brackett
reports to the Director that "the feet of the bedstead are much worm-eaten and require treatment, and nearly all the hangings are worn and damaged and will have to be repaired". Arrangements to repair are to be made with the Art Workroom -- it may take a month or two.
4 September 1916 drafter letter to the Duke of Buccleuch
conveys the Museum's thanks. "The Bedstead is indeed a most valuable addition to our collection of English furniture and will…..be of very great interest to the public".
The bed was on display at the V&A until well after the Second World War. It was then conserved for new galleries planned for the 1980s but these were never created. When the plans for the new British Galleries were made in the late 1990s, discussions started on the re-instatement of the bed at Boughton and it was returned to the State Bedroom there in 2003, on long loan.
Historical significance: The late 17th century state bed was symbolic of the wealth and importance of the patron. It was the focal point of the state apartment in country houses, prepared in readiness for a royal visit, and suggested an association with the crown, whether or not they were actually slept in by the monarch. They were hung with the most sumptuous fabric available, trimmed with gold or silver thread.
The bed in the State Apartments at Boughton House was the focal point of a sequence of three rooms, each increasing in grandeur. It stood in the Third State Room, or State Bedroom, the walls if which were hung with Mortlake tapestries of the Acts of the Apostles. A set of six chairs were luxuriously upholstered with crimson silk damask similar to the silk of the bed.
[Bed rail] The braid on the bedslats appears to date from the 17th century. The upper row of braid could be the original as there are no tack holes underneath. The lower braid is of a different type but could also be 17th century. The hooks which are sewn on the lower braid could also be 17th century but differ from the upper hooks. There are tack holes beneath. The lower braid might have been fixed at a later date to hold a lower tier of valances.
There tack holes along the upper part of the insdie of the side and foot bed rails, but not the head rail, have scraps of hessian caught underneath. These could have held in place a hessain sheet lying over the bed slats, or strips of webbing supplementing the bed slats.
Historical context note
The bed is similar in style to fashionable beds of the 1670s, which had a basic rectangular wooden frame completely enclosed by curatins. These were know in England as 'French beds' because the style originated there. During the 1670s Ralph Montagu was Charles II's ambassador to the French Court and Master of the King's Wardrobe and it is tempting to suggest that he acquired the bed when he was in France in the 1670s. Alternatively he might have acquired it from the King as a royal perquisite, as a result of his royal appointment. It might possibly be one of six beds ordered by Charles II from Louis XIV's upholstere, Jean Peyrard, in 1672 and 1673. As a comparison, another of these is thought to be the 'King's Bed' now at Knole, Kent, acquired by the Sixth Earl of Dorset as a perquisite in 1694. The Knole bed has very similar ostrich feather plumes arising from urns, a shaped headboard and carved feet.
On the other hand some elements of the Boughton bed suggest a later date. Certain baroque features, such as the shaped tester, the scalloped edges to the valances, and the elaborately carved feet, are more typical of the 1690s. Perhaps the bed was made in the 1690s and acquired by Ralph Montagu then, possibly as a perquisite when he was Master of the Wardrobe to William III.
Another theory is that Lord Montagu bought the bed in the 1670s, but altered it in the 1690s, increasing the height of the bed by adding feet, raising the headboard and adding a shaped cornice. There is physical evidence of early alterations to the bed. There are early spacers above the feet, and above the tester to raise the height of the cornice. Nails were knocked into the headposts to raise the headboard. The cornice itself might have had a curved section added, as the frame is oak, but the shaped part is pine. The rest of the bedstock is all oak. The lower valances were lengthened at an early date by the addition of scalloped edges.
Historical evidence could be consistent with this theory. The State Apartments at Boughton House were completed between 1695 and 1697. Possible the bed was altered for the new state bedroom. However, It is not possible to be certain. The visible alterations could instead have been made when the bed was sent to London in 1705 to be repaired by the French upholsterer Francis Lapiere.
The silk fabric cannot be dated precisely owing to absence of dated comparisons. It dates from the period 1670-1700, though on balance it is more likely to dated from the end of that period; The brocaded pattern is 'shadowed by the larger pattern in the silk damask beneath, a technique typical of the 1690s. The silk on the chairs which accompanied the bed is not of the same pattern.
Descriptive line
Boughton Bed, English or French, 1670-1690, red silk brocade on an oak frame.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Dorment, Richard, 'Viewfinder: State Bed, Boughton House', in 'The Daily Telegraph', Saturday arts section, 2 August 2003, p. 3
Celebrates the return of the bed on long loan to Boughton House.
Associated names
Ralph Montagu
Production Note
The bed was first recorded in 1697 but may have been made in Paris in the 1670s
Materials
Silk; Oak; Walnut; Pine; Feathers
Techniques
Painting; Carving; Brocading
Categories
Furniture
Collection code
FWK
