Saturday 8 October 2011

And now, the end is near and so I face the final curtain..

300 years ago in 1711, John 1st Earl Poulett comissioned the Queen Anne State Bed and then named his son Anne.
30 Years ago in 1981 the bed was purchased for Leeds.
5 Years ago extensive research began into the restoration of the bed.
18 Months ago I started writing about it.
2 weeks ago the upholsters arrived and littered the Picture Gallery with all of the vast acres of finished curtains, cornices and valences.



Up went the new cornices, across went the curtains and all I could do was watch.



Now was the moment when my zillions of phonecalls and hundreds of panic stricken and slightly officious emails finally made sense. It's coming together, it's almost the end. I think I speak for all the upholsterers, weavers, engineers, designers, artists, carvers, curators and conservators, when I say, "Yes! We did it our way".



Even yesterday the mattress platform went in. In a few days time, three mattresses, four velvet feet, and one bed cover arrive. A final bit of tweaking and we will have put the bed, to bed, so to speak. So now, until it is finished, no more will be said about the bed. No more photos. No more blog updates on our progress. I don't want to spoil it for you. If you do get desperate @CuratorPolly on twitter might mumble something. Dearest readers, I am afraid that if you want to see the finished bed you will need to wait until December 8th when our Bedtime Stories exhibiton begins.


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