Find Antique Hand Carved Canopy Beds
Antique hand-carved canopy beds date mostly from the second half of the 18th century to the very early 20th century. Tall wooden posts stand at each corner of the bed. They support a cloth canopy, or tester, that covers the top of the bed. Many of these posts are handsomely carved in period styles. Additional carvings decorate the headboards and rails. Canopies, too, are often richly embroidered. Hand-carved canopy beds, also called four-post or four-poster beds, are available at antique dealers, auction houses and estate sales.
Instructions
1. Visit an antique furniture dealer to find antique hand-carved canopy beds. Dealers such as The Bed Connection and Architectural Antiques (see Resources below) specialize in period beds. Pieces are typically complete except for the actual cloth canopy. Usually canopies have been lost or thrown away at some point in the past.
2. Note the styles of hand-carved canopy beds available from antique dealers. Many are late models form the early 1900s that were designed for use in warm or tropical countries, where beds carried mosquito netting. Carving is generally freer than that found on models from the mid-18th to mid-19th centuries. These older pieces sport posts that are like classical columns, or have ball and claw feet.
3. Look for hand-carved wooden canopy beds with prominent wooden panels as headboards. These, too, are early examples, and date from the 18th century. In about 1750, the headboard typically rose the full height of the bed up to the canopy. Closer to 1800, headboards became more like modern headboards, with tops in curved shapes. Carvings of acanthus leaves, garlands and ribbons feature prominently on pieces from the early 19th century.
4. Visit Christie's (see Resources below) and other auction houses to view examples of hand-carved canopy beds from various periods. Beds can be either full tester or half tester. In half-tester examples, the canopy would extend out over only about half of the bed. The wooden canopy frame stops halfway to the foot of the bed. Depending on age and condition, antique hand-carved canopy beds list from several hundred to several thousand dollars at auction.
5. Look for estate sales as another possible source for antique hand-carved canopy beds. Estate sales are sales conducted at private homes. Purchasers bid on various articles or paid agreed-upon, usually discounted, prices. While most estate sales feature modern merchandise, some will sell antique items, like hand-carved canopy beds. Look for estate sales being conducted at very old residences, or for those that advertise collections of antiques.
Tags: hand-carved canopy, hand-carved canopy beds, canopy beds, estate sales, canopy beds, 18th century
