This gilt pine and limewood crane was made to ornament the dome of a couch bed installed on 24-25 Nov 1769 by Chippendale's men. It is carved in the round and supported on one cast iron leg. The base is decorated with rockwork, rushes and acquatic plants and remnants of the original crimson damask can be found underneath.
The bed is listed in the 1795 inventory as 'a French Couch Bedstead with Dome Top in Burnished Gold & Crimson Damask hangings . . .'. Chippendale illustrated a similar bed in his Director (pl.L) also displaying a crane finial, which he described as 'the Emblem of Care and Watchfulness: which, I think, is not unbecoming of a Place of Rest'. Such beds were used during the day as a place of quiet repose whilst entertaining intimate friends in a ladies dressing room.
The bed was dismantled in the nineteenth century and the lower part bought by Bradford Museums in 1976. The crane was used for some time as an ornamental feature around the house before being sold.
Figure of a Crane
1769
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