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ITALIAN LIBERTY: STYLISH NIGHTS IN CAST-IRON BEDS

Nowadays they are again en vogue, those metal beds, typically in brass or wrought iron .

A certain well- known Swedish furniture house offers quite a few of those … What once held a dubious reputation as a prison cot or camp bed has long since become a comfortable sleeping recline in modern day bedrooms .

In the course of the industrial revolution , the 19th century has left us with an immense variety of models . England, France and the United States as well look back on a long tradition of metal bed manufacturing that are far better known than some of the following „ Liberty “ variants that we have found in Italy .

Towards the end of the 19th century, a europe-wide reformist movement came up that sought to rejuvenate the traditional forms so much abused during the period of historism and combine them with true materials : Jugendstil, Art Nouveau , Secession, Modern Style, Fin de Siècle, Liberty Style or, in Italy , simply „ Liberty “. Of course , not all objects of this period ( approx . 1890 to beginning of the 20th century ) meet the stringent requirements of rejuvenation. Fascinating hybrid forms have combined materials otherwise not allowed.

An unorthodox example are Italian metall beds that can easily be assembled. In Liberty times, these were more cheaply manufactured than wooden beds and more affordable to the less affluent country population . Yet , decor was still important , and ornamental painting and inlays of mother of pearl were meant to give them a certain glamour. Older designs with finely lined cartouches were accepted as much as more contemporary bold Jugendstil elements. A special curiosity is the exquisitely drawn colourful imitation of the wooden grain, including knotholes and annual rings, rendered with a precision that almost matches the real beds of wallnut wood made in the first half of the century.

Metal beds like these can be found in antique shops, on antique fairs such as the one in Arrezzo, and occassionally also on Eba , where they are a bargain but will often need some restoration.

The range of inviting bivouacs is by no means at an end with these examples. You may find further dreamsweeteners in the following publications:

„Beds for Dreaming “ by Stewart und Sally Walton, Callwey Publishing 1997, available via Amazon. More information on Italiann Liberty is available in the exhibition cataloque : “ Il trionfo del Liberty “ by Illaria Sgarbozza , Chiostro del Bramante, Rom, 2001, Motta.