19th Century French Louis XVI Walnut Bed
2601-2614B (Click to Inquire About This Item)
Accepts Full Size (Double) Mattress Set
Location: Dallas
19th Century French Louis XVI Walnut Bed is a masterpiece of the Louis XVI neoclassical romantic tradition, with its carving telling a deeply personal story in the language of 18th century French decorative symbolism.
The headboard is crowned with an arched pediment richly carved with garlands of flowers and trailing ribbons, the quintessential vocabulary of French pastoral romanticism. At its center, a bird is nestled among the floral swags, a tender motif of nature and love drawn directly from the decorative arts of pre-Revolutionary Versailles. Crossed bows, arrows, and ribbon garlands cascade across the frieze, classical allusions to Cupid and the arts of love so beloved by French craftsmen of the Louis XVI period. A continuous rope-twist border frames the composition with neoclassical restraint.
The footboard is equally enchanting. At its heart sits a beautifully carved basket of flowers, evoking the pastoral ideal so central to French aristocratic taste. Bows and graceful arches complete the composition, unified by diamond-lattice side carving and delicate scrolled feet throughout. The warm, deeply mellowed walnut has acquired over a century of rich patina. This bed accommodates a standard full mattress. Conversion to queen size is available at a custom rate; contact us for details.
A companion armoire and nightstand from the same suite are available at this writing. See photo of set, and Related Products below left.
Circa 1890s
Accommodates full size mattress set. Headboard measures 62H x 62.5W; footboard is 30.5H x 62.5W; rails are 77L.
The Great French Bedroom Suite Tradition
The magnificent French bedroom suite, known as la chambre à coucher complète, traces its roots to the royal workshops of Versailles, where master ébénistes first established the standard of excellence that would define French furniture for centuries. Through the 19th century, workshops across France produced custom suites of breathtaking quality, conceived as complete unified visions. Depending on the patron’s wishes, a suite might include any number of pieces including bed, armoire, nightstand, commode, vanity, and even chairs, each carved by the same hand, the same vocabulary, the same workshop. The finest examples, carved in rich regional walnut and populated with the symbolic language of love, nature, and classical antiquity, remain among the most sought after achievements of European craftsmanship, as this beautiful suite so elegantly demonstrates.
