A Chinese marriage bed that will have auction goers smiling

An 18^th century hand carved Cherrywood marriage bed should have auction goers smiling when auctioneer Kim Haolin mounts the podium at 11am Sunday April 7 at Kim’s Auctions 329 Warrigal Road, Burwood.

Obviously designed for generations several centuries ago, the bed is too small for many modern day adult human beings who would struggle to comfortably stretch out on the enclosed mattress space.

Nevertheless, it is a beautifully constructed piece of furniture that is bound to appeal to more than one collector.

The auction features several unusual items including a pair of late 18^th century Tibetan male and female headdress containing original butterscotch, Baltic amber, red coral, ancient glass and turquoise antique agates.

A pair of late 18^th century Russian icon wood panels depicting the life of Jesus Christ on earth is another fascinating attraction along with a 400-year-old Chinese Han Dynasty terracotta camel and rider complete with thermoluscence certificate.

Intriguing are the pieces of hand carved Qing Dynasty (1730-1880) Taiwanese ivory collected over two generations and the rare Majolica griffin figure.

Another attraction is the French boulle ormolu mounted wall clock and the pair of 14^th century Indonesian stone plaques from East Java mounted on a wooden frame. Both are originally from Queensland’s Ted Mc-Callister collection.

Each bears an  inscription on the back explaining that the two tiles in each frame are a warrior with a noble lady and a pair of deer on a hillside.

A colourful Chinese rosewood frame with porcelain panel also is eye catching.

French furniture highlights include a 19^th century high quality marble top ormolu mounted commode and 19^th century boulle pieces featuring table, single and two-door display units and pedestal.