4ft6 Antique Victorian Brass Bedstead – Ref. BA 9543A54

Fine quality, mid period Victorian all brass bedstead.  This bedstead’s main design theme centres around matched gallery features to the head and footboards.  In turn these are flanked by symmetrical rows of cast brass spindle mounts set with diamond cut Mother of Pearl to the two forward facing facets of the spindle’s centres.  The ships wheel’s are mounted with spindles which brings an overtly nautical theme to this bedsteads overall scheme.  It could be said that it is ‘ship shape’ and presents formally to the faint sounds of the Bosun’s whistle call!  Note also the use of square brass main posts along with the traditional styles ‘Scottish Thistle’ or ‘Buckingham’ spun brass top knobs or ‘Vases’ as they we often titled by their Victorian creators, Samuel Heath & Co of Birmingham.

Still standing in the most superb original condition, a point adding greatly to the bedsteads overall appeal.  This mellow golden brass finish comes courtesy of the Victorian’s Lumanoid lacquer process; one that utilised a sepia coloured lacquer.

This dark lacquer effect helped tie the different colours of brass mounts to one uniform tone.  The brass mounts would have varied in colour due to the differing processes used to make them.  Some were spun from discs, on this bedsteads all were casts from molten brass and by contrast the round tubes were a wrapping of sheet brass which was rolled over steel tubes.  As such, and due to the differing Metallurgy of the brasses used to create them, once polished they varied in the tone of their brass colour thus the sepia lacquer masked this.  It also made allowance for the fact that slower Victorian polishing wheel speeds could not achieve such a high shine as the electrically powered ones we use today.  Again, this lower shine was improved by the darker coloured, but still clear, Lumanoid lacquer.  Quick ship programme.