[MR] Beds

Thu Apr 18 12:37:28 PDT 2002

A bit on the subject of beds:

Everyone likes to try to replicate the smaller beds from the 
Oseberg ship. Problem is that that is a rare and now delicate
book if you can find one.

I have been trying for about a year to locate:
Speake, G.: A Saxon Bed Burial on Swallowcliffe Down 
[Wiltshire] English Heritage Archaeological Report, English 
Heritage, London 10, 1989, vii, 135 pp, pls, figs, table, refs,
index, 18#, paper, 1850742111, "A BA barrow had been excavated 
by L and F de M Vatcher in 1966 had been reused in 7th C AD for
a richly furnished Anglo-Saxon inhumation of a female aged 18 
to 25 years. She lay on an ash wood bed with elaborate iron 
fittings, and was surrounded by high quality grave-goods 
including an iron bound bucket, a maplewood casket containing 
a sprinkler, a spoon, and personal items, an ornate satchel with 
gold foil mounts of possible Christian significance, and a bronze-
mounted bucket. The burial’s significance is considered in its 
local and national context. Documentary and topographical evidence
suggest the possible identification of the barrow with Posses Hlaewe,
recorded in a charter of AD 940. OS report 10. 
Date of Publication: 01/01/89  ISBN: 01-85074-211-1  
Actual cost at time of printing was £10, but with the two catalogs
and all the packing my order from Britain to North Carolina, USA
came to £22.20. Absolutely splendid! 

PRODUCT CODE: XA13010   Price: Paperback £10 /
 Customer Services on 0870 333  1181 or 
customers at english-heritage.org.uk
Go Get 'em people!

Copies of the English Heritage publications are available from 
Room 209, 23 Savile Row, London W1X 1AB    
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/
good luck getting the buttons on the pages to work right.
Maybe Bill Gates has been messing around there. However,
I finally got the book.

Now, why do I mention this? Well, it appears that there are lots
more beds in this particular tome than just the one. And a leather
satchel of 800 AD as well.

The remains of a skillet; the remains of a casket; a water sprinkler -
with comparison to others; metal spoons with additional comparisons;
remains of a comb, an iron spindle, iron knives, remains of silver
brooches, belt mounts, two fancy glass beads, another comb; a bucket
with triangular mountings below the top band and bail; remains of
the satchel, satchel reconstructed; fancy satchel mounts with
archaeological comparisons to other jewellery. Looks a bit like
St. Cuthbert's cross to me; Moylough, Ireland belt reliquary.
Ardagh chalice fitting; various mould fragments from the Mote of
Mark; Palm cups in situ and together, with comparisons.

Beds: 
Iron components of the Swallowcliffe Down Bed and it's
reconstruction. 

Reconstruction of another A-Saxon Bed from Shudy Camps, grave 29.

Fittings without reconstructions from other probably bed burials.

Reconstruction of a wooden bed from the burial of a princeling
at Cologne Cathedral from several views. Lots of turning on 
this one.

The Big Oseberg Bed, Top, End, Side, Oblique Views with Scale.

Two of the smaller Oseberg Beds with multiple views of each with
Scale.

Textiles by Crowfoot.
Big Bibliography. End of this book part. I'm in a hurry to
go some where.
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Also for the Anglo-Saxon Types you might look at the carving of
an animal headed bed in:
Nelson, Philip, M.D., F.S.A.:  An Ancient Box-Wood Casket; 
Offprint from Archaeologia Vol. LXXXVI, 1937, pp. 91-100, and 
plates XX and XXI showing every side of the box and its top, 
at that time separated between different owners, and three 
pictures of related stylistic sculptures. ** Depicts an early 
medieval bed with Animal Head(s) for the head posts. Suggests 
the box may be Anglo-Saxon English of about 1020.
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Drawings (sorta scaled) for various furniture including the 
beds taken from various sculptures, manuscripts, surviving
pieces, may be found in:
Wright, A.C. MEDIEVAL FURNITURE
1976. Card covers. VG Oblong 4to Approx 50 pages. 
Over 100 line drawings with informative commentary illustrating 
many aspects of medieval wood-working practice and furniture 
styles, published by Southend Museums Service.
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Boccacio, Giovanni: Boccaccio's Decameron, 15th-Century
Manuscript, Pognon, Edmond (Texts by)Chief Curator, Bibliotheque 
Nationale, Paris, 	translated by J. Peter Tallon, 
Productions Liber SA, and Editions Minerva SA, 	Fribourg - Geneve, 
1978. The hundred miniatures in this book were painted 	between 
1430 and 1440 to illustrate the French translation of this book 
completed in 1414. 124 pages, almost each of which has one or 
more than one full color illumination. There are chests, chairs, 
beds, benches, bathing tubs, buckets on a yoke, Thrones, feast 
scenes, caskets for burial, tombs, curious boats with garderobe 
seats down both sides of each, warships, many tables on trestles, 
three legged turned stools, lots of hats, pouches, costumes, 
shoes, a wooden litter to be carried by two (different than any 
I've seen elsewhere), garden trellises, feastgear, swords and 
sheathes and knives, a halberd, a very long torch, a very long 
cart carrying a denounced knight, hunting dogs and spears, 
candlesticks, horse barding, a bakery, pewterware, a turning 
spit and drip pan before the fireplace in use, cloaks, bucklers 
and swords, vats, long benches for the eating tables, a round 
lantern, etc. 
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Hayward, Charles H.: Period Furniture Design;  Sterling 
Publishing Co., New York, 112 pages, ISBN 0806976640 - oak stool
late 15th; oak chest, oak drawtable early 16th, oak chest 1600, 
oak bed end first 1/2 16th; all are measured drawings. The back 
has a section on Furniture and also Mouldings through the Ages 
which shows a little medieval Furniture in it. Small line 
drawings of these. 
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Windisch-Graetz, Franz: 
Möbel Europas : von der Romanik bis zur Spätgotik : mit einem 
Rückblick auf Antike und Spätantike / Franz Windisch-Graetz 
Publish info München : Klinkhardt & Biermann, c1982 ISBN 3781402126  
Medieval Furniture
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Kraus, Henry: The Living Theatre of Medieval Art: University 
of Penn. Press, Philadelphia, 1967, xvii + 248p, 135 
Illustrations, ISBN 0812210565. Great for sculptural scenes. 
Sculpture in the round, quatrefoils of daily life 
and seasons and stained glass windows from great cathedrals. 
Money coiner’s capital 37, Dragon sculptures with females 
43 - Reims and Chartres; Creation of Adam 54 - Chartres (God 
molding Adam); Herod and Salome 57 - Toulouse; Mother combing 
Child roundel 57 - Vezelay; **** Bed - 12th C. heavy framed 
turned rope suspension 68 - Mossaic; 12th C.  *** Bed with 
Virgin on window at Chartres 49 - arcaded light stretchers 
and turned legs with large feet. 
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Ta,
Master Magnus Malleus, OL © 2002 R.M. Howe
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