Featured Snakes on a Bed - made me buy it... Witco?

Hey, peeps!

I couldn't walk away from this, it's just too fun. But most Witco I thought was produced around the 60s and is much more ethnic - some is modernist and some brutalist. This one seems more ... sedate, like Mutiny on the Bounty/Errol Flynn-ish.

Wish it had more trees, snakes and fruit - and less galleons!

Judging by the patina, stain and how some of the wood was milled, it seems more likely to be from the 40s.

Any opinions welcome!

My roommates are gone so it's been set up in the yard - I can see it from my kitchen window lol

 

Adam and Eve theme with the snake and apple?
I am just guessing here.
Cool piece.

 

That's ...interesting.(LOL) I'm not sure I'd want to sleep in it, but it's cool.

 

It's a whole dang BED with trees and snakes and boats!

I was just hoping to find some kind of identification - I don't think it is Witco... I posted it on TikiCentral - hopefully someone there has some info.

 

I thought Garden of Eden on the rails

 

Due to the nicks in the stain on the frame, it looks like soft wood - can you tell what kind of wood? Stained without sealer? Indonesian carving on existing unfinished Indo. wood frame bed?

 

ohhhhh - the fact that it was unvarnished escaped me, and I think is throwing me a little off.

I was seeing oak grain on the top of the posts in last pic above ^^ but the wood itself is more mahogany color - the images are redder than RL, but it does have a reddish cast to it, not gold.

Ahh - I just looked around to find out what Witco is made of

Witco decor is generally made out of red cedar with dark walnut stain.

cool - but still don't think it's Witco... but the color makes sense now, likely Western red cedar.

 

That is truly fantastic ! What size is it ? The shape does suggest older,perhaps it was a custom piece for some palm beach mansion ! I just love unique things like this.

 

Thanks johnnycb09
54 x 77 so looks good for reg double mattress.

 

Sure looks just like laser engraving on wood to me. That would make the date of creation later than most guesses so far. I don't think lasers powerful enough to do that got out of the laboratories much before the 1980's. The parallel ridges in the burned areas point to laser work. May have been done by computer-controlled laser which would date it even later.

 

Have no idea. Decoration looks to have been sand-blasted.... like they do signs. Have never seen furniture decorated this way.

 

I think it's genius - the way it is masked - the bracket shaped border is so sharp and clean.

Sandblasting or painting has been around long enough for Lalique to make use of (grammar?)

Spring, the parallel lines are just the wood grain - some bands are softer and recede leaving the harder bands higher...

 

I compared the designs on both head board and foot board and found the moon appears to be in a different position and the plants are slightly different between the two, so I don't think this was manufactured from a pattern but rather by hand. Looks to be made like a sand blasted sign to me too.

 

The picture of the head board with the foot board has been removed?

 

Pirate movies were big in the 20s - I looked around and did see a lot of galleon bookends and decorative pieces from that period. So I feel more confident dating it earlier.

I don't know how they apply a mask on "carving" like this, or what material it is - maybe just paper glued on - but designed and applied with some precision.

Maybe it was a prop? A studio would have the means to crank out something like this and I live in LA.

The themes are a bit off! and the rails are not designed or carved as well as the rest head and foot boards.

When I look at it all together - it's pretty wacky looking! those snakes