A rare pair of Henry VIII oak headboard bed-posts, circa 151...

Hammer

£2,000

A rare pair of Henry VIII oak headboard bed-posts, circa 1515-20

Each well-carved with ‘diaper-work’, a related patten of lozenges, enclosing roses (double rose, heraldic emblem of Henry VIII), fleur-de-lys (recognising England’s claim to the French throne) and pomegranates (Katherine of Aragon’s house badge, and a symbol of fertility, with ripe seeds - a reason to associate with beds), both centred by a projecting shield, one designed with a female bust profile, wearing a coif, the other a male profile bust, with beard, tight-curly hair and loop earring, each headed by stop-fluting and terminating in an eight-petal flower, height 135.5cm, width 8.2cm, depth 7cm, (2)