The "boat" bed, a star of the Empire era

In France, the "boat" bed was produced during the Directory (1795-1799), and was very fashionable during the Empire and the Restoration. Its name comes from its shape, which resembles a cradle, with its characteristic curve and identical headboards.

The Directoire beds have two headboards of the same height and freestanding column or baluster posts. The headboard band, quite wide for this period, curves backward and is decorated with a lozenge. The crossbar, however, remains straight. The boat-shaped bed became more widespread and a common piece of furniture during the Empire period. It retains the two headboards of equal height, curved outward in the shape of a crosier or cornucopia, and connected by a similarly curved crossbar that extends the curve of the headboards. More rarely, only one headboard may be present.

"Boat" bed, from the Empire period

Like other pieces of furniture, the bed is imposing, majestic, a true statement piece . In bedrooms, it is no longer placed perpendicular to the wall, but along the longest wall. A bed is called a "duchess bed" when the canopy covers the entire bed, and an "angel bed" if the canopy is reduced to half the length of the bed. The "Polish bed" is surmounted by a canopy or bed frame, from which curtains or drapes hang.

The decor of the "boat" bed during the Empire

Under the Empire, the bronze ornamentation , sparingly distributed and with great attention to symmetry, is particularly remarkable. The rather wide uprights of the "boat" bed, as well as the crossbar, are adorned with gilded bronze fittings that emphasize their structure. Since this solemn decoration is meant to be viewed from the front, the side facing the wall is left undecorated.

The most famous models, made by G. Jacob or other famous cabinetmakers, have rich, mythological or allegorical decorations of high quality, like the example kept at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris, whose decoration around Cupid and Psyche is a variation on the theme of sleep.

Among the favorite motifs are the stylized palmette inspired by Egyptian art, oak, laurel, or ivy leaves, sometimes arranged in a wreath, the sphinx, swans, dolphins, winged lions, bees, eagles, lyres, trophies, and stars. All these motifs, whether flat or in relief , affixed to bed frames, are admired for their fine chiseling and precise modeling.

The "boat" beds in the Atena collection

high-quality models that beautifully illustrate the Empire and Restoration aesthetics. At once simple and imposing, heavy yet delicate, they exude a grandeur that is not without beauty.

Each bed comes with or without a canopy: