{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O321126"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O321126/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O321126","accessionNumber":"W.23:1-22-1954","objectType":"Field bed","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"Field beds were recorded in inventories and other documents from the medieval period.  They were used for travelling and for comfort on military campaigns or expeditions.  From the middle of the 18th century, they became much more widely used in Britain as trade began to develop and overseas colonies were acquired.  Travelling by the military, by civil servants and by merchants and emigrants demanded increasingly comfortable equipment for those who could afford it.  A bed that could be easily packed and unpacked was a prime piece for such people.  At home in Britain, such beds also came to be valued for their efficiency and might be used for children or servants, or, in fact, for anyone, either in journeying, or within the home.  These lightweight beds appeared more frequently in inventories and designs for them were published by cabinet makers such as Hepplewhite and Sheraton. The fashion continued well into the 19th century and such beds were particularly popular in the period 1800-1830, when the London firm of Morgan and Sanders was particularly known for making such pieces. The frames were often, as here, quite simple, and were hung with lightweight canopies and curtains of muslin or cotton. This bed is not marked in any way but probably dates from the period 1800-1820.\r\n","physicalDescription":"A travelling or field bed of mahogany, beech and elm with brass fittings. The bed is fully demountable for travelling.  The slatted base and headboard are supported on six tall, turned legs. The canopy consists of four posts with turned vase finials, thin side rails, and four arched sections supporting a textile tester panel (not surviving).\nThe turned legs have brass-plated iron foot mounts and collars at the top. The tops of the legs screw through the side rails of the slatted beech and mahogany base into brass plates fitted on the top of the rails.  The bed base is in three sections, with brass butterfly hinges on both the top and bottom of the rails, now creating a rigid structure. Those on the underside may be the original as, with the upper ones alone, the bed would collapse, but there is a lot of evidence of repair in the hinge areas so both may be replacements. The loose headboard is of mahogany, with a rectangular-sectioned frame with four similar intermediate muntins.  The side pieces extend below the lower rail and serve as loose tenons engaging with mortises cut into either side of the head end of the bed base. The headboard is attached to both head posts at either end at the top: small iron spikes or hooks engage with metal eyelets attached to the side of each head post. Metal eyelets on the inside of the foot posts may suggest that the bed originally had a foot board.\n\nThe tall posts of the superstructure also show brass-plated collars at their lower end. At each corner one of these is screwed through the top of the bed base into a brass plate fixed underneath the base rail. The top of each post carries an iron spike onto which the tester frame is fitted. This is composed of two narrow mahogany side rails, pierced at each end to fit over the spikes on the post. Each rail also shows a recess cut in the top surface at one third and two thirds of their length, into which two of the four arches that would support the textile tester panel can be screwed. At either end, an arch of elm, with brass caps to the end, fits over the spike on the bed post to support the textile tester panel.  Two other arches are screwed down into the side rails at one third and two thirds of the distance between the end posts. The small, turned, mahogany urn finials would have been added to the corner posts to appear above the textile panel of the tester\n\n\nThe loose headboard is of mahogany, with a rectangular-sectioned frame with four similar intermediate muntins.  The side pieces extend below the lower rail and serve as loose tenons engaging with mortises cut into either side of the head end of the bed base. The headboard is attached to both head posts at either end at the top: small iron spikes or hooks engage with metal eyelets attached to the side of each post. \n\n ","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"x40240"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"mahogany","id":"AAT12221"},{"text":"beech","id":"AAT11948"},{"text":"elm","id":"AAT12070"},{"text":"brass","id":"AAT10946"},{"text":"","id":""},{"text":"iron","id":"AAT11002"}],"techniques":[{"text":"joinery","id":"x36614"},{"text":"turning","id":"AAT53158"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Mahogany, beech and elm, joined and turned, with brass-plated fittings.","categories":[{"text":"Furniture","id":"THES48948"},{"text":"Woodwork","id":"THES48877"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"FWK","id":"THES48597"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"B","id":"THES376948"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341837"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341837"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341837"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341837"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341837"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"003","id":"THES343715"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341837"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"003","id":"THES343715"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341914"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341914"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"003","id":"THES343715"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341914"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341914"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"003","id":"THES343715"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"003","id":"THES343715"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"003","id":"THES343715"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"003","id":"THES343715"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341837"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341837"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341837"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES341837"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"bed slat","id":"AAT40438"}],[{"text":"headboard","id":"AAT40447"}],[{"text":"Leg","id":""}],[{"text":"Leg","id":""}],[{"text":"Leg","id":""}],[{"text":"Leg","id":""}],[{"text":"Leg","id":""}],[{"text":"Leg","id":""}],[{"text":"Post","id":""}],[{"text":"Post","id":""}],[{"text":"Post","id":""}],[{"text":"Post","id":""}],[{"text":"Tester side rail","id":""}],[{"text":"Tester side rail","id":""}],[{"text":"Tester end rail","id":""}],[{"text":"Tester end rail","id":""}],[{"text":"Tester arch","id":""}],[{"text":"Tester arch","id":""}],[{"text":"Finial","id":""}],[{"text":"Finial","id":""}],[{"text":"Finial","id":""}],[{"text":"Finial","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Great Britain","id":"x32019"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1780-1799","earliest":"1780-01-01","latest":"1799-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"213.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"91.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"188","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"From dept. catalogue.","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Purchased for £25 from Simon Dale Esq. ARIBA, 13 Cable Street, Great Percy Street, WC1. See Registered File 54/1498.  No earlier history recorded\n\nField beds were recorded in inventories and other documents from the medieval period.  They were used for travelling and for comfort on military campaigns or expeditions.  From the middle of the 18th century, they became much more widely used in Britain as trade began to develop and overseas colonies were acquired.  Travelling by the military, by civil servants and by merchants and emigrants demanded increasingly comfortable equipment for those who could afford it.  A bed that could be easily packed and unpacked was a prime piece for such people.  At home in Britain, such beds also came to be valued for their efficiency and might be used for children or servants, or, in fact, for anyone, either in journeying, or within the home.  These lightweight beds appeared more frequently in inventories and designs for them were published by cabinet makers such as Hepplewhite and Sheraton. Two examples of 'field beds' and a diagram of different shapes for the top of such beds were published by Thomas Sheraton in <i>A Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book</i> (published 1791-1793, plates 102-104 dated 1787) and re-published in <i>The Cabinet Dictionary</i> in 1803.The first of these had more than 600 subscribers so it is not surprising that the fashion for such beds spread quickly, encouraged by their sheer practicality. The fashion continued well into the 19th century and such beds were particularly popular in the period 1800-1830, when the London firm of Morgan and Sanders was particularly known for making such pieces. The frames were often, as here, quite simple, and were hung with lightweight canopies and curtains of muslin or cotton. This bed is not marked in any way but probably dates from the period 1800-1820.\n\n","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"A travelling or field bed of mahogany, beech and elm with brass fittings. The bed is fully demountable for travelling.  The slatted base and headboard are supported on six tall, turned legs. The canopy consists of four posts with turned vase finials, joined by foldable side rails, and four arched sections supporting a textile tester panel (not surviving). British, 1780-1800","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["W.23:1-1954","W.23:2-1954","W.23:3-1954","W.23:4-1954","W.23:5-1954","W.23:6-1954","W.23:7-1954","W.23:8-1954","W.23:9-1954","W.23:10-1954","W.23:11-1954","W.23:12-1954","W.23:13-1954","W.23:14-1954","W.23:15-1954","W.23:16-1954","W.23:17-1954","W.23:18-1954","W.23:19-1954","W.23:20-1954","W.23:21-1954","W.23:22-1954"],"accessionNumberNum":"23","accessionNumberPrefix":"W","accessionYear":1954,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Slatted base for field bed","Slatted head board for field bed","Leg [1]","Leg [2]","Leg [3]","Leg [4]","Leg [5]","Leg [6]","Post [1]","Post [2]","Post [3]","Post [4]","Tester side rail [1]","Tester side rail [2]","Tester end rail [1]","Tester end rail [2]","Tester arch [1]","Tester arch [2]","Finial [1]","Finial [2]","Finial [3]","Finial [4]"],"assets":["2019LU5697","2019LW2359"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-22","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-24","availableToBook":false}}