Hop into These Fancy Historical Beds
Going to sleep in centuries past was a unique adventure
Bed (Lit à la polonaise), about 1775–80, French. Gessoed, gilded, and painted walnut; gilded iron; modern silk upholstery and passementerie; ostrich feathers. Getty Museum
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For those fortunate enough to have led lives of opulence in the past, even bedtime could hold a sense of glamor. But sleeping wasn’t without perils and customs that might seem strange today (how would you like your morning routine to be observed by dozens of onlookers?).
All humans need a place to sleep at night, but depending on your wealth and class, that has meant anything from a simple wooden bed frame to a luxurious canopy bed adorned with lush drapery. And just like any other home furnishing, bed styles have changed to reflect technological advances, fashion, and the availability of materials—from the piles of grass layered on top of bug-repellent ash that served as bedding 200,000 years ago to today’s temperature-controlled gel mattresses, custom memory foam, and an endless array of bed frame designs. Sleep itself has also evolved over the centuries as nighttime hazards and habits have changed.
Take a journey through the Getty collection for a glimpse of how the wealthy and influential of their time slept the night away. While bed styles have transformed, the quest for a comfortable night's sleep has remained constant.
Luxurious sleep in ancient Greece
Attic Red-Figure Dinoid Volute Krater and Stand (detail), 390–380 BCE, attributed to the Meleager Painter. Terracotta. Getty Museum
For a high-status person in ancient Greece, a bed—called a kline—was more reminiscent of a couch, with a frame made of wood, bronze, or other luxurious material. A mattress, composed of fabric such as wool and filled with feathers or plant material, rested atop a woven support. The quality of the stuffing, woven mattress cover, and pillows would have depended on the wealth of the owner, and the kline itself could have been decorated and included a wooden pillow rest with metal fastenings. Klinai were mobile, used for reclining to eat, chatting as if on a couch, or sleeping. The example above is particularly elaborate since the vase depicts a divine scene.
A courtly medieval bedtime
The Birth of Alexander, about 1470–75, Master of the Jardin de vertueuse consolation and assistant. Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, and ink. Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XV 8, fol. 15
This 15th-century manuscript depicts the birth of ancient Greek king Alexander the Great, but with a decidedly medieval flair. Canopy beds draped with heavy fabric curtains were popular in cold, drafty residences, where they helped sleepers stay warm and cozy. They also provided a modicum of privacy during a time when many people could share a single bedroom—royals and nobles (who might share a bed with spouses or children) and as well as servants (who might have slept on their own pallets) alike! The rich, expensive fabrics and intricately designed wooden frame served as a status symbol and representation of one’s wealth.
Sweet dreams from a blue bed
Bed (Lit à la polonaise), about 1775–80, French. Gessoed, gilded, and painted walnut; gilded iron; modern silk upholstery and passementerie; ostrich feathers. Getty Museum
Although this dreamy blue bed was designed in France, it’s known as a lit à la polonaise, or “bed in the Polish manner,” because the drapery, ornamental trimmings (passementerie), and canopy reminded the French of Polish dress.
Sleep looked a little different in the pre–industrial revolution period, when this bed was made. In an episode of Getty’s OMMM: Our Museum Mindfulness Meditation podcast, sleep historian Roger Ekirch explains that in the 18th century and earlier, people of all classes took sleep very seriously, since they had so many threats to contend with: illnesses like colds and the flu that could worsen at night; lice, fleas, and bedbugs; leaky roofs; a lack of temperature control; storms that could destroy homes; and a host of supernatural intruders like witches and demons. To cope with these concerns, people turned to strategies like keeping dogs in the house for protection, consuming alcohol or laudanum (a diluted opium mixture) to induce sleep, praying, heating up their beds with pans of charcoal or hot bricks, or having a bedmate for warmth and protection.
Ekirch’s research into the history of sleep has also found references as far back as Homer’s Odyssey that reveal that sleep used to be biphasic, or segmented. It was considered natural to go to bed between 9 and 10pm, sleep for around three hours, then spend about an hour or more awake before returning to bed for a final three to four hours. That middle-of-the-night awake period could be used to do simple tasks like chores or to pray, read, and reflect on dreams.
“Middle-of-the-night insomnia today… [is] an echo, it’s a remnant, of this older pattern of sleep,” according to Ekirch. Hear more from Ekirch in the podcast.
Sumptuous sleep inspired by the “exotic”
Bed (Lit à la turque), about 1750–60, Attributed to Jean-Baptiste Tilliard. Gessoed and gilded beech and walnut; modern silk upholstery. Getty Museum
Imagine taking a nap on this opulent pink stunner! This bed represents the height of 18th-century European fashion—a time when anything perceived as “exotic” was in vogue. For someone in France, where this bed was made, that meant designs that evoked countries like Egypt, China, or Turkey. It’s called lit à la turque, or “Turkish bed,” because of the two ends that scroll out like unfurling scrolls of paper, reminiscent of Turkish style.
This bed would have been placed against a wall with a baldachin (fabric canopy) overhead, with textiles hanging from the canopy on each side of the bed. For an upper-class woman, the bed would have served as more than simply a comfy sleeping spot. It also would have been a gathering place as she got ready in the morning, visited with friends, and drank her morning cup of hot chocolate. Want to know more about the life of this pink bed? Hear its story in its own words in the Getty podcast If Objects Could Talk.
Beds fit for a king and queen (literally)…
[Louis XIV’s bed], about 1870–90, French. Albumen silver print. Getty Museum
Bedroom, Marie Antoinette, Fontainebleau, France (detail), 1889, John F. Jarvis. Albumen silver print. Getty Museum
In 18th-century Europe, the ultimate figures of opulence were, of course, kings and queens. The photographs above freeze two royal bedchambers in time. On the left, Louis XIV’s bedroom at the Palace of Versailles is embellished from floor to ceiling with luxe decorations, an elaborately carved bed, and a painting in a gilded frame.
On the right is Queen Marie Antoinette’s bedroom at Fontainebleau, an estate that served as the French monarchy’s escape from the whirlwind of Versailles. This bedchamber was used by all French queens from Marie de Medici to Marie Antoinette. The grand bed you see in the photograph was built especially for the latter in 1787 and decorated with cupids and a medallion featuring her initials. However, the French Revolution began just two years later, and the queen never saw her new bed. Empress Josephine was the first to use the bedroom after the revolution.
Royal bedrooms were not simply meant for relaxation. The king and queen’s courtiers would also have gathered there to participate in rising and retiring rituals, making them heavily trafficked areas. That’s why in the mid-18th century, during a major refurbishment and expansion of Fontainebleau, King Louis XVI had a second, secret bedroom added to the second floor, where Marie Antoinette could go for true privacy.
A presidential bedroom
[President Garfield’s Bed Room, White House, Washington, D.C.], about 1871, John F. Jarvis. Hand-colored albumen silver print. Getty Museum
About 100 years after Marie Antoinette’s bed was made, President James Garfield took his place in the White House and moved into the presidential bedroom. Notice how the styles have changed from the ornate beds of the 18th century! The Victorian era was in full swing by the mid-19th century, with an emphasis on dark, heavy wood furniture with upholstery and intricate carvings. Fun fact: the coil spring system (essentially the first modern mattress) was invented in 1871, and the box spring was created in the 1890s—a real improvement over mattresses hand filled with straw or fabric scraps!
By this time, the industrial revolution was also underway, leading to a reorganization of society around new technologies like factories powered by steam, coal, and electricity; the growth of cities (which could now be lit with gas lamps, causing people to stay up later and contributing to the end of biphasic sleep); and, as Ekirch describes in an episode of the Getty podcast OMMM: Our Museum Mindfulness Meditation, “the birth of values that emphasized efficiency, ambition, whereby sleep increasingly became viewed as a necessary evil.”
Getting to sleep in the 21st century
Today, we have more sleep and bed-related options than ever. You can find mattresses made of foam, latex, and springs or filled with water; bedding composed from cotton, silk, linen, and bamboo; and styles ranging from minimalist to rustic to coastal to midcentury modern (it does appear that those opulent styles of the 18th and 19th centuries remain firmly in the past). Sleep has also become a booming field of study, with new research and techniques contributing to the idea that sleep is a key pillar of health that should be optimized and prioritized in daily life.
For many people in the 21st century—even nonroyals—sleep is easier, more affordable, and safer than it’s ever been. But that doesn’t mean we don’t all find ourselves struggling to sleep every now and again. Check out these Getty resources the next time you find yourself wide awake but wishing for some z’s.
Listen to bedtime stories
What’s the modern-day equivalent of bedtime stories? Podcasts! Getty has many to choose from, but for a real bedtime story feel, check out the family-friendly If Objects Could Talk, where works in Getty’s collection, like a magnificent microscope and Purrquoise the traveling cat, come alive to tell their own stories.
Enjoy some ASMR
Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) describes a tingling yet pleasant sensation some people feel in their scalp and neck in response to calming sounds, touch, and visuals. Think whispering, brushing, and tapping; gentle strokes on the face or hair; and watching someone working on a methodical, technical, or artistic task. You can find ASMR videos on social media and YouTube to watch before bed, including Getty’s own ASMR YouTube series. Watch art conservators pack a papier-mâché dress and open larger-than-life artists’ pop-up books—you might be surprised at how relaxing and hypnotic it is!
Read a book
One of the most-recommended strategies for increasing sleepiness is reading, preferably from a printed source or e-reader rather than a phone or computer, since blue light can keep you feeling wired. Plus, you’re never too old for bedtime stories. Peruse Getty Publications’ offerings for titles that tap into dreamy themes, like The Fantasy of the Middle Ages: An Epic Journey through Imaginary Medieval Worlds, Odilon Redon: Otherworldly Visions, and Arthur Tress: Rambles, Dreams, and Shadows.
Practice mindfulness meditation
If you tend to lay down for sleep only to be confronted with racing thoughts and worries, mindfulness meditation can help train you to focus your breath, calm those never-ending thoughts, and stay present in the current moment instead of dwelling on the future or past. Meditation sessions can be as short as a few minutes, and sprinkled throughout your day to help you feel more relaxed at bedtime. The Getty podcast OMMM: Our Museum Mindfulness combines mindfulness and art, offering guided meditation inspired by works in the Getty collection. Try this yogic sleep meditation inspired by the blue bed discussed above or this progressive muscle relaxation exercise with the Vexed Man sculpture.
