The technique of copper plate printing, used here by the renowned Beautiran factory in the Bordeaux region, was one of the first printing techniques established in Bourgoin, as early as 1780, with the Perrégaux and Pourtalès factory.
This bed, representative of the style of the 18th century aristocracy, complements the museum’s collections and research on copper plate etching in parallel with the alcove bed printed by Perrégaux and acquired in the early 1990s. Richly embellished, it was undoubtedly made at the factory: the cloth was printed using maddering, with a substantial drawing ratio of about one meter.
The exceptionally large and colorful motifs depict the Chariot of Aurora, inspired by Guido Reni’s fresco Aurora at the Casino in the Pallavicini Palace in Rome, a subject that enjoyed great popularity at the time. Other printed subjects include Apollo and Daphne inspired by Bernini, and a music temple inspired by the Temple of the Sybil in Tivoli.
Two partial inscriptions attest to its manufacture in the Bordeaux region and provide information on the date of the work. This motif was also printed by Manufacture Petitpierre et Cie in Nantes.
Structurally, it is a bed “en housse”, i.e. the frame of its canopy is not made of exposed wood. Its upholstery, padded and quilted on white canvas lining, includes the canopy, which is fully covered both inside and out with ogee cut-outs and taffeta braid, as well as the lower portion of the bed, the curtains, and the quilt.