Scottish Half Tester Bedstead

A matching pair of cast iron antique beds with ornate arched back panels, finished in cream. These beds accept 3ft 6in (42 inch or 107 cm) wide bases and mattresses. The beds can be ...

A superb cast iron antique bed finished in black with simple castings, decorative brass fittings and oval shaped knobs. This bed accepts a UK king size or US queen size (5ft, 60in o...

An attractive cast iron Victorian antique platform bed with low foot end, finished in our hand paint pewter effect with nickel plated brass. This bed accepts a UK king size or US qu...

A superb cast iron antique bed finished in soft ivory with decorative castings, gently curving brass top rails and spherical brass knobs. This bed accepts a UK king size or US queen...

Magnificent exhibition quality antique Victorian gilded solid brass half tester double bed having a newly reupholstered back in a quality fabric flan...

Circa 1890 19thC English half tester double brass bed frame with lattice swing brackets to the sides and twin bars below for hanging fabric. Very high quality casting. Measures...

We are delighted to offer for sale this lovely handmade in England Burr Walnut ornately carved Half Tester Canopy bed A very good looking, extremely...

The Faringdon House, Chippendale Period, Mahogany, Claret Red Damask, Tester Bed Incorporating The Arms Of The Dukes Of Hamilton, The Royal Banner Of Scotland & Tree Of Life, sold with new custom-made, luxury, pocket sprung, king-sized mattress 5ft, 150cm wide - With the Royal Banner of The Royal Arms of Scotland In The Tester, the Coat of Arms of the Dukes of Hamilton in the Head Curtain & Tree Of Life In the Bedspread: all Gold, Silver & Polychrome Embroidered. - ‘ I can remember, during the tedious or frightening but always sleepless nights of fire-watchings in wartime London, that the place I longed to be in most intensely was the Red bedroom at Faringdon, with its crackling fire, its Bessarabian carpet with bunchy flowers, and above all its four-post bed, whence from beneath a huge fat fluffy old-fashioned quilt one can gaze out at the view, head still on the pillow... ‘ Nancy Mitford, Essay on Faringdon House, the home of the the real ‘Lord Merlin’, 1950. Mitford affectionately portrayed her great friend Lord Berners as 'Lord Merlin' in Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. - Created in 1643, the Dukedom of Hamilton is the premier peerdom in Scotland and the third oldest in the United Kingdom. The head-curtain incorporates the coat of arms of the Dukes of Hamilton prior to 1711 when they were combined with the Dukedom of Brandon. The oak tree and inscription ‘Through’ alludes to the tree that Charles II hid in at Boscobel in 1651. The inscription ‘Sola Nobilitas Virtus‘ translates as ‘For Virtue is the only Nobility’. - The tester incorporates the Royal Banner of Scotland. The earliest recorded use of the lion rampant as a royal emblem in Scotland was in 1222. Since 1603, the lion rampant of Scotland has been incorporated into both the royal arms and royal banners of Scottish and British monarchs. - Beds symbolise life and the Tree of Life is a significant, cross-cultural symbol; symbolising health, growth, strength, flowering, abundance and longevity. - PROVENANCE : ‘The Red Bedroom’ was the main guest bedroom at Faringdon House, the home of Lord Berners, composer, writer, painter, from 1918 until his death in 1950. Faringdon House was the centre of a glittering social circle during the 1920’s and 30’s and guests included Evelyn Waugh, Siegfried Sassoon, John Betjaman, The Mitford Sisters, Salvador Dali, HG Wells and Gertrude Stein. Many famous guests slept in the "Red Bed", including Salvador and Gala Dali and Nancy Mitford. It is not known where Lord Berners acquired this tester bed and research is underway to see if documentary evidence can be found relating to the history of this tester bed before acquisition by Lord Berners - Hamilton Palace, home to the Dukes of Hamilton for nearly 300 years was furnished with treasures to rival the Royal Collection. Exquisite furniture, famed paintings, coveted objets d’art, finds from antiquity: it was the hoard of a family Daniel Defoe once called ‘great possessors.’ There were two enormous auctions at Hamilton Palace in 1882 and 1919 and the stately home was condemned for demolition in 1921. Many of the treasures from Hamilton Palace are now on display in international museums and collections. National Museums Scotland, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, the National Trust, the Louvre, Lennoxlove House and Boston Museum of Fine Arts. - Chippendale period, mahogany, tester bedstead with finely carved, fluted and reeded baluster columnar front posts surmounted by a moulded cornice. Re-upholstered in a two-tone claret red damask, with red and gold passementerie replacing the previous threadbare silk damask. The banner, armorial and tree of life embroidery...