Two of the largest and perhaps most arresting objects in the Getty
Museum’s Decorative Arts collection are 18th-century beds, and each
serves as example of the time period in which they were made.
This bed
is called a
lit à la Turque (Turkish
bed). This title does not refer to any specific Turkish design source
but reflects the 18th-century preoccupation with anything exotic and
unusual from foreign countries. This unusually large bed was made for a
bedroom in a grand private residence. It would have been placed sideways
against a wall, with a draped baldachin (ornamental canopy) now
missing. The wheels underneath the bed allowed servants to pull out the
body of the bed easily, leaving the tall back attached to the wall while
they made the bed. It was probably set into an alcove or niche in a
bedroom wall.
The
lit à la Polonaise (Polish bed) would have also belonged in
a deep niche in the bedroom of the main apartment of a palace or
mansion. In the 1700s, visitors were frequently received in the bedroom,
while the host or hostess was still in bed or at his or her dressing
table.
This bed is called a lit à la Turque (Turkish
bed). This title does not refer to any specific Turkish design source
but reflects the 18th-century preoccupation with anything exotic and
unusual from foreign countries. This unusually large bed was made for a
bedroom in a grand private residence. It would have been placed sideways
against a wall, with a draped baldachin (ornamental canopy) now
missing. The wheels underneath the bed allowed servants to pull out the
body of the bed easily, leaving the tall back attached to the wall while
they made the bed. It was probably set into an alcove or niche in a
bedroom wall.
The lit à la Polonaise (Polish bed) would have also belonged in
a deep niche in the bedroom of the main apartment of a palace or
mansion. In the 1700s, visitors were frequently received in the bedroom,
while the host or hostess was still in bed or at his or her dressing
table. 
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