The King's Bed and its furniture at Knole: this rare and magnificent seventeenth-century state bed and its accompanying furniture were probably made in Paris for the Duke of York, later James II. Christopher Rowell examines new evidence about their history

Apollo, Nov, 2004 by Christopher Rowell

Conspicuously extravagant, its magnificent textiles heavy with gold and silver bullion, the so-called 'King's Bed' at Knole, Kent (Fig. 2), has excited hyperbole since at least the eighteenth century. Once fictitiously associated with a visit of James I to Knole, (1) and subsequently dated correctly to the later seventeenth century, the bed and its complementary furniture were long regarded as English. (2) Peter Thornton first proposed a French origin for the set in 1975, and subsequently concluded that the bed 'was made in Paris or by a French upholsterer working for the Crown in London. (3)

Gervase Jackson-Stops came to a similar view and also suggested that the suite might have been commissioned for the marriage in 1673 of the Duke of York (the future James II, 1633-1701; reigned 1685-88, Fig. 1) and Maria, daughter of Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena, later Queen Mary, of Modena (1658-1718). This was on the basis of the overtly nuptial imagery of the seat furniture, and because the front rails of the chairs and stools, as well as the headboard of the bed, are emblazoned with a royal duke's or prince's coronet rather than a regal crown. The theory also explained the absence of the set from the records of Crown commissions, but Jackson-Stops acknowledged that 'Whether such an early date can be given to the suite is open to question'. (4)

The bed was certainly used by William III's cousin Prince Louis (Ludwig Wilhelm), Margrave of Baden-Baden, during a state visit in January and February 1694, when it still stood in the former Queen's (Mary of Modena's) apartment at Whitehall, thus further substantiating the possible connection with her marriage. Soon afterwards, 'ye bed Prince Louis Lay in' and its matching furniture were removed from Whitehall Palace, either as a perquisite of office or as a gift from William III, by Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset (1638-1706), in his capacity as Lord Chamberlain (1689-97). This article draws together the archival and historical references to this remarkable set of royal furniture, seeking to address all the issues relevant to its origins, provenance, use and display.

A marriage suite?

The King's Bed and its seat furniture are resplendent with a magnificent gold and silver French lampas, (5) while the inside of the bed is richly embroidered (Figs. 3, 5 and 10), partly with flowers, on what was originally a crimson satin ground." The elaborate passementerie incorporates the appropriately nuptial imagery of ribbons and bows. That it was a marriage bed is suggested above all by the iconography of the carved frames of the matching furniture. This amorous display is so explicit that it is unlikely to have been incorporated in a set of furniture commissioned later in a couple's marriage. The front and back legs of the chairs (Figs. 6 and 7) and stools (Fig. 8) are in the form of partially draped amorini, the left hand one holding a quiver of arrows, his companion with an eagle in his arms (a possible allusion to the arms of the Este family of Modena, an eagle argent, as Alastair Laing kindly suggested to me}. The arrangement of the figures is not quite consistent, and the quality of the carving is variable, both indications of studio practice.

At the joints of the central stretcher are two pairs of cartouches incorporating carved reliefs of a bow, quiver, an arrow and a torch (the attributes of cupid), and (on the sides) a flaming heart pierced by two crossed arrows (Fig. 7). Reclining in the middle of the central stretcher is an amorino caressing a dove (symbol of love and peace). (7) The front stretcher has at the centre a pair of winged putti upholding a prince's--or royal duke's--coronet (or the female equivalent), a device that also appears in the centre of the magnificent raised work of the headboard (Fig. 5). This is in the form of a broken pediment, with the ducal coronet surmounting u swag of flowers tied with ribbons, and sinuous branches terminating in lilies. (8) This set of furniture was, therefore, certainly not made for a reigning monarch or consort, as has usually been assumed.

The likelihood that the bed is associated with the Duke of York's second marriage, to Mary of Modena, is strengthened by the survival in the Victoria and Albert Museum of the suit said to have been worn by the Duke at the wedding ceremony on 21 November 1673 at Dover (Fig. 4). Together with a saddle and bridle used on the same occasion, it was presented as a memento to Sir Edward Carteret, a member of the Duke's household. It is so similar to the magnificent silver-gilt, woven and embroidered French textiles of the King's Bed that it may well have been designed to render the Duke en suite with the bedroom furniture. (9) Professor Aileen Ribeiro has kindly observed that this 'seems entirely plausible; given James's love of the ceremonial of Versailles, where such visual coordination was de rigueur'. (10) A proxy marriage had taken place at Modena on 30 September, but this second round of nuptials was conducted by the Bishop of Oxford, following Mary of Modena's arrival in England. This alliance of an English prince with a Catholic princess was music to the ears of Louis XIV--though not to a British audience--and it is possible that the bud and its furniture were a French royal gift.