Headboard for a single bed, one of a pair with W.11-1975 and part of a larger set of bedroom furniture (W.3-1975 to W.13-1975), made of mahogany and veneered with macassar ebony, with ivory handles and stringing and bandings of ebonized wood.

Headboard for a single bed, made of mahogany and veneered with macassar ebony, with ivory stringing and bandings of ebonized wood. The headboard shows a recessed panel above the height to which the pillows would rise. Below this the headboard is veneered overall with macassar ebony, the grain set vertically. On the raised framing to the sides and top of the recessed upper panel the macassar ebony is veneered with the grain running lengthwise on the framing sections. The bevelled edges of the framing elements are of ebonized wood, with ivory stringing on the inner edges. The ground of the recessed panel is veneered with five panels of macassar ebony, radiating from a five-sided base panel set with the same wood veneer, the grain running vertically, this separatedfrom the radiating panels by an ivory stringing. The headboard is supported on two wood and metal shaped uprights that must have fitted into corresponding sockets on the back of what were presumably divan bases.

Made for the author Dodie Smith

This headboard was made in London but shows the influence of fashionable Parisian furniture. At the time it was made Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann was a leading designer. Like Ruhlmann's furniture, it uses very rare materials, including shagreen (sharkskin) and ebony veneer. The details are in ivory and even the carcase of the headboard is made of expensive mahogany. It reflects the influence of Art Deco furniture from Paris.

The design is probably by J.F. Johnson, who was designing furniture for Heal & Sons at the time. The London firm is more usually associated with the Arts and Crafts style, and this headboard shows that it was keeping abreast of fashion in the 1920s.

The set of bedroom furniture, of which this forms part, was made for the author Dodie Smith.

W.10-1975