Accession Number

997.012.001.001a-f

Description

A circa 1875 American black walnut renaissance-revival styled bed, part of a four-piece suite forming this accession, the bed consisting of a headboard, footboard, and two side rails. The top of the headboard is in a curved pediment style with a large carved scrolling acanthus leaf applied to the top middle. There are loose finials on headboard which has three vertical sections defined by curved mouldings. Above the centre curved section is an applied carving of a stem of grapes with leaves. The footboard has a curved pediment top. Applied below it is a large carved-wood cluster of fruit, which includes figs and dates. Across the bottom is a horizontally applied moulding in an elongated oval shape. The legs are part of the sides of the footboard and are large and curving with vertical moulding in an elongated dome.

Narrative

This bedroom suite was collected for display in room 302, also known as the sixth bedroom or Effie's bedroom, at Craigdarroch Castle. It is the only period room in the Castle that was restored by The Castle Society from scratch, with pieces deliberately acquired for display in it.

The 1909 Craigdarroch auction catalogue description guided the selection of this walnut bedroom suite. The rationale for its choice included the hypothesis that Mr. and Mrs. Dunsmuir acquired much of their furniture in the United States and that they tended to keep their furniture and merely added to their collection as the sizes of their domiciles increased. It is a pattern seen in the choice made by their son James in his history of use of an American bedroom suite (see: 997.009 https://collection.thecastle.ca/Detail/objects/7590)
 

History of Use

This bedroom suite was probably made in Grand Rapids, Michigan in about 1875. It purchased by The Castle Society from J. Hill Antiques of San Francisco in 1997. The dealer had acquired it from a gentleman who stated that he had acquired it from the owner of an old house in the Los Angeles, California area. 

Date

circa 1875

Dimensions

242 x 10 x 155 cm

Material

Wood, walnut

Technique

Sawn; Carved; Varnished

School/Style

Renaissance Revival

Country of Origin

United States of America