Bed (furniture)

Bed (furniture), platform designed for rest or sleep. Today, a bed usually consists of a bedstead, or supporting frame, a spring, and a mattress. Substantial evidence exists that beds were popular among the ruling classes of Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia. After the 7th century bc Greek bedsteads and couches were inlaid or veneered with ivory, tortoiseshell, and precious metals, and sometimes provided with feet of solid silver or gold. Luxurious beds, similar to those in Greece, were made by the Etruscans. Two funeral bedsteads, veneered in ivory, were found by archaeologists in Etruscan tombs of the 4th and 3rd centuries bc. The beds of the Romans were characterized by extreme simplicity until the dissolution of the Republic. Thereafter they surpassed in splendor those of the Persians, Greeks, and Etruscans.

Beds of bronze tubing, similar to the brass beds of a later era, were made in the 8th century during the time of Charlemagne. During the 12th and 13th centuries virtually all baronial mansions and castles were equipped with beds, which steadily increased in size and luxury. By the 15th century, beds, notably those used by royalty, attained enormous proportions. Immense canopies, suspended over the beds from the ceilings or walls, became popular. Subsequently, the canopies were attached to columns affixed to the corners of the bedsteads, a modification that led to the four-poster of later times. In the 17th and 18th centuries, during the reigns of the French kings Louis XIV, who owned 413 beds of all types, and Louis XV, the art of fine bed construction reached a peak, combining graceful design, fantastic ornamentation, and beautiful coloring. The extreme ostentation that characterized the beds of former times gradually disappeared as mass production made beds available to all classes, effectively ending their fashionableness. Although elaborate beds, such as four-posters, are still in use, the beds of today generally are constructed for comfort and simplicity of design. See also Furniture.