With our absolute highest compliments Bay Colony Antiques takes the utmost pleasure in offering one of the most incredible antique beds that we have ever been fortunate enough to handle. This bed is a complete masterpiece of early American furniture construction and design built from the highest grade of southern cherry lumber available to any craftsman of the federal era. We believe this bed was a product of a master woodworker sometime towards the end of the 18th century or at the beginning of the 19th century in the years around 1790 - 1810. There are simply no beds of this magnitude available to compare one another to so we have to rely on educated speculation and family history as our sources of information in marketing this remarkable bed. The lovely family we purchased this bed from told us they had brought it to New England from Virginia decades ago and we have surmised that the bed was likely built for a wealthy patron in either Virginia or possibly Kentucky over two centuries ago. The beds that we find in early American collections in New England typically do not exist in this massive scale and the proportions of northern beds are smaller as are the traditional colonial homes for which they are made. That is not to say all northern early American beds are small some are quite grand in scale and design however we have never owned a New England or Mid-Atlantic example of this magnitude. Furniture constructed in the central and western regions of Virginia and the bordering state of Kentucky are often walnut however as we have expanded our knowledge base of the finer points of southern American furniture we have come to recognize that much of the finest cherry wood furniture ever produced in America came from these regions. While New England is in possession of some of the most select old growth cherry lumber ever harvested the southern climate produced an even grander stock of cherry lumber as the winters are far less inhospitable to what the ancient trees in the north have endured through. We denote this as the bed we now offer is built from perhaps the finest American sourced cherry lumber that we have ever encountered.
This bed has brilliantly quilted cherry wood comprising both the headboard and the slightly smaller footboard. Both components of the bed are constructed with a frame and panel technique which has allowed the wood to expand and contrast throughout the seasons as humidity in the atmosphere changes which has prevented any warping or age relates wood splits from occurring. The shape of the headboard and footboard is scrolled in the Sheraton manner which was immensely popular in the American federal period. A master wood turner executed each of the bed posts spectacularly employing a variety of Grecian inspired baluster vase formed turnings with robust ringlet turnings before the bed posts are completed by exceptionally designed cannonballs. The bed is very sturdy and well suited for continued use as it has been expertly maintained throughout the past two centuries. We can assist the next owner of this bed should they need it with providing accurate dimensions to a regional bedding maker who can make a custom tailored mattress and boxspring for this antique bed. Even if a bed is suited for bedding found in any department store regularly we do always recommend employing a smaller bedding manufacturer as they have significantly lower operating expenses and can make a premium set of bedding far cheaper than a large department store or bedding chain. They can also customize the bedding to your individual preferences so it is well worth it for value and quality to go with a regional mattress maker. The interior of the bed measures 55 1/2" wide x 71 1/4" long. The overall dimensions of the bed are 63" wide x 81 3/4" long x 79 1/2" tall.
