Why do so many say king size?

Because the form was made for French bedrooms and French mattresses. Half the titles on Sellingantiques cite king or king size, and 11 say super, so the beds have commonly been widened or re-framed to UK measurements. The widest are given as 6ft+, 2m x 2m, or in one case Emperor size, which appears exactly once, on a burr walnut double corbeille.

What period do corbeille beds come from?

Sixty of the 67 listings carry a clean year and they fall between 1880 and 1930. The 1920s account for 32 of those, more than the other decades put together. One 1880s listing is the earliest dated piece, and three carry an 1890s date. The dated field is the dealer's own and often a round decade marker, 1900, 1910, 1920, rather than a researched year.

Are corbeille beds caned or upholstered?

Both, and upholstered is the commoner of the two. Twenty-three titles say upholstered against nine that are caned or described as bergère. The caned examples sit almost entirely in the upper half of the range.

Which makers made these beds?

None are named. Across all 67 listings no maker's name appears anywhere, and none carry a stamp or label recorded in the description. One title alone names a place of manufacture, describing a Paris maker. Otherwise these are anonymous French bedsteads, sold on form, timber and width.

What does demi-corbeille mean on a listing?

The basket sweep is worked at one end only, usually the head. Three titles use the term. Double corbeille is the opposite: both ends shaped and matching, used in six titles, and those sit high in the range.

How often do these come up for sale?

Around five corbeille beds come to market on Sellingantiques in a year, spread across 17 different dealers, so no one dealer holds the form. Within that, single beds and day beds are the exception. Pairs of matching singles surface three times in the archive, and the canapé corbeille, the settee version, once.

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Antique Corbeille Beds

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A corbeille bed is a French bedstead whose head and foot boards curve outward in a basket-like sweep, with an upholstered or caned panel set into a shaped show-wood frame, made for domestic bedrooms.