Bed (Headboard and Footboard)
Unknown
Decorative Arts and Design
Elaborate beds and bed frames, often included in a woman’s dowry, were available to only the wealthiest members of colonial Spanish American society. In 1807 the traveler François de Pons described the magnificence of such “bedsteads, with deep headboards, showing nothing but gold, covered by superb damask counterpanes, and a number of down pillows in fine muslin cases, trimmed with lace.” Beds as elaborately carved and gilded as this rare surviving example from colonial Cuzco were used infrequently but kept conspicuously on view.
Camas muy elaboradas y ricamente adornadas, a menudo incluidas en las dotes femeninas, eran accesibles sólo para los miembros más ricos de la sociedad colonial de Hispanoamérica. En 1807 el viajero François de Pons describió la magnificencia de tales “camas, con cabeceras profundas, mostrando nada más que oro, cubiertas por magníficas colchas adamascadas, y varias almohadas de plumas en fundas de muselina fina, bordeadas con encaje.” En el Cuzco colonial, camas minuciosamente talladas y doradas, como este raro ejemplo que ha sobrevivido, eran usadas con poca frecuencia pero se mantenían ostentosamente a la vista.
Camas muy elaboradas y ricamente adornadas, a menudo incluidas en las dotes femeninas, eran accesibles sólo para los miembros más ricos de la sociedad colonial de Hispanoamérica. En 1807 el viajero François de Pons describió la magnificencia de tales “camas, con cabeceras profundas, mostrando nada más que oro, cubiertas por magníficas colchas adamascadas, y varias almohadas de plumas en fundas de muselina fina, bordeadas con encaje.” En el Cuzco colonial, camas minuciosamente talladas y doradas, como este raro ejemplo que ha sobrevivido, eran usadas con poca frecuencia pero se mantenían ostentosamente a la vista.
ARTIST
Unknown
MEDIUM
Gilt wood (probably cedar)
DATES
1700â1760
DIMENSIONS
a, headboard: 55 3/8 x 65 7/8 x 4 3/4 in. (140.7 x 167.3 x 12.1 cm)
b, footboard: 55 3/8 x 65 7/8 x 7 3/4 in. (140.7 x 167.3 x 19.7 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Decorative Arts and Design
ACCESSION NUMBER
41.1275.165a-b
CREDIT LINE
Museum Expedition 1941, Frank L. Babbott Fund
PROVENANCE
Prior to 1941, provenance not yet documented; 1941, purchased in Peru by Herbert Spinden for the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Unknown. Bed (Headboard and Footboard), 1700â1760. Gilt wood (probably cedar), a, headboard: 55 3/8 x 65 7/8 x 4 3/4 in. (140.7 x 167.3 x 12.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1941, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 41.1275.165a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.1275.165a-b_SL3.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 41.1275.165a-b_SL3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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