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This ornate, wooden, hand-carved and painted bridal bed panel from China dates back to the late 19th century. To add an authentic, colorful dash of Oriental elegance to your home, hang this panel on your bedroom or living room wall.

The image at the right shows a close-up detail from one of the five tableaux carved in relief on the panel. Traditionally, such scenes express symbolic wishes of good fortune for the couple who used the bed, that they might enjoy long and happy lives. For enlarged views of each section of the panel, see the Slideshow below.

Dimensions and Weight:

70″ (width) × 9″ (height) × 1″ (depth)
10 lbs (4.5 kg)

Note: As this item is an authentic, one-of-a-kind antique, there is some normal wear to the finish, along with miscellaneous scratches, nicks, and dings due to age and use. However, the overall condition is good.

Slideshow

Click each segment of the bed panel to enlarge.
Use L/R arrow keys to move through gallery. Close slideshow with [esc] key.

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Alternatively, click here to view the item as a single enlarged image.

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About Chinese Bridal Beds

Shanghai-style furniture (like the bed from which the panel above was taken) is characterized by its use of decorative sculpture and sculptured paint. Typically made of elm, camphor, beech, fir, cypress, walnut, pine, or oak wood, the distinctive "enclosed box" type of Chinese bridal bed is based on ancient frame-and-panel construction techniques, using precise mortise-and-tenon, miter, or dovetail joints.

Depending on the wealth of the groom's family, construction of the bed could range from simple to luxurious (like the beautifully ornate example shown at the right). Beds like this also featured various carvings of people and decorations that depict traditional Chinese symbols and ways of life. The carvings are in low relief, often painted or gilded with a very fine layer of gold, and may include images of flowers such as peonies or magnolias, which signify fertility.

Such carvings may also depict stories from Chinese mythology. A favorite theme frequently seen adorning beds and other furniture from China are the Eight Immortals (or saints) of Taoist legend. For example, pictured in the second tableau of the panel above is the figure of Elder Zhang Guo, often represented in Taoist iconography as an old man riding a white mule (usually seated backwards). Since he symbolizes old age, his image can be thought of as bringing the gift of long life. Indeed, a picture of him on his mule offering a descendant to a newly wed couple can also be found in Taoist nuptial chapels throughout China.

Zhang Guo Lao, one of the Eight Immortals (detail from Chinese Bridal Bed Panel)

Traditional Chinese wedding customs date back to at least 400 b.c. and can be very elaborate, to say the least. Among the chief objectives of any marriage was to join and enhance the two families and to ensure succession with numerous descendants. To that end, every step of the wedding preparation process was carefully planned and executed, from the proposal and betrothal to the wedding itself and the post-nuptial rituals.

One of the most important steps in this process was the installation of the bridal bed, which took place up to 12 days before the wedding. It was important that an auspicious date be chosen for this ceremony, during which a "good luck woman" or "good luck man" (i.e., someone with many children and a living spouse) made up the sleeping area of the bed with a new set of red or pink linens. He or she then scattered the bed with tangerines or oranges, dried longans, red dates, persimmons, peanuts, magnolia petals, lotus seeds, and pomegranate leaves (all for the purpose of ensuring sweetness, harmony, fertility, and good fortune for the couple).

Immediately afterward, small children were invited to play on the bed and eat the sweets and other goodies in order to bless the couple with fruitfulness. Except for the children, it was considered a bad omen for any adult to sit or rest on the bridal bed before the wedding day!

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