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

(7) On one of the steels (F 136d), the dove has been mysteriously transformed into a bird of prey (the Este eagle?) with its left wing unfurled. This inconsistency Is another indication of studio work.

(8) The coronet of the brother, sister, son or daughter of a sovereign is identical to the state crown minus the intersecting arches above, and is composed of crosses-patee and fleur-de-lys alternately. Far an illustration and description, see A. Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry, 1909 (revised edition by J. Brooke-Little, Aylesbury 1969), p. 272.

(9) V&A: T.711-1995. This similarity was noted independently by the writer and by Martin Drury. I am greatly indebted for educe and information about this remarkable suit to Susan North, curator of costume at the V&A, who also transmitted the previous research by her colleague Avril Hart (see A. Hart, National Art Collections Fund Review, 1995, no. 4205, pp.134-35). The possible link between the suit and the King's Bed has not previously been suggested, but is thought to be credible by Susan North and her colleagues. The wedding suit was by family tradition--given to Sir Edward Carteret (d. 1699) who had been the York's property, taken in 1674, the year after his marriage. The inventory lists his possessions in the charge of his Yeoman of the 'wardrobe of beds' (including 'Rich Beds apparelled' and "Furniture of Roomes constantly used'). (24) However, the King's Bed may have been regarded as the Duchess's property and--being the grandest of beds--would not have been in a 'constantly used' room.

Does the King's Bed suite accord with a date of about 1673 on stylistic grounds, and can it truly be assumed to be French? Given the extreme rarity of such beds (and furniture), it is difficult to be precise about their characteristics, and some 1670s French beds were stylistically much in advance of others. Drawings of the two beds of about 1672 once in Le Vau's Trianon de Porcelaine at Versailles indicate that they already anticipated the elaborate style of Daniel Marot. (25)

Compared to these admittedly exceptional examples, the King's Bed looks decidedly old fashioned, as does the French bed at Gripshohn that was brought to Sweden by the Danish princess Ulrika Eleonora on her marriage to Karl XI in 1680. (26) Interestingly, the tester of the Gripsholm bed has a vestigial dome, like one of the Trianon beds, both of which are depicted with a low stool, or porte-carreaux, in front, similar in design to the King's Bed pair of porte-carreaux (Fig. 9). (27)

[FIGURE 9 OMITTED]

The Gripsholm bed is squarer and lower than the Knole bed (it may have been cut down), with a more conventional canopy and valances, akin to the remnant of Queen Catherine of Braganza's bed of about 1673 at Ham. (28) There are, however, affinities, including the style of headboard, the ostrich plume panaches and the elaborate floral textiles, which are also partly embroidered, incorporating a crown (and cipher).

The wavy line of the cornice of the King's Bed is untypical of French beds of the 1670s and early 80s, which tended--like the Gripsholm bed--to have the plainer box like outline shown in the design of about 1679 for Louis XIV's bedchamber at Versailles, attributed to Antoine Desgodetz. (29) However, the conventional type of bed was always adopted for French state apartments, whereas more private settings--such as the Trianon de Porcelaine--allowed a freer rein to the designer's imagination. Also, the scalloped cresting of the King's Bed still lacks the broken and more baroque 'skyline' of Daniel Marot's designs of around 1690, or of English derivations of French models, such as James II's bed (1688), attributed to Thomas Roberts, in the Venetian Ambassador's Room at Knole. The style of the woven textiles, the floral embroidery, the passementerie and--above all--the design of the magnificent raised work of the headboard of the 'King's Bed' (more Jean Marot than Daniel) seem consistent with the 1670s. (30)