A Canopy Bed

Chinese canopy beds with front railings are also known as six-post beds.  Each wood panel and post are detachable and are held together with different types of joinery. 

The top is a horizontal post decorated with intricate inlaid of carved images of dragons, bats, symbolic clouds, peaches and floral motifs. 

Underneath the top post is a panel decorated with three bars of openings interspersed with carvings of trailing-cloud-and-plant motifs. 

Immediately below this panel is a mitred frame enclosing three bars of solid wood panels and two small rectangular blocks. The two bars decorated with images of flowers and birds are placed on the side and the bar decorated with landscape with depictions of human figures is placed in the middle interspersed with the rectangular blocks that are decorate with calligraphy. 

In addition to this mitred frame panel, an open carved archway is used to connect the 4 front posts together.  The front posts are arranged with two on each side of the bed. 

The low section of the pair of front posts on each side is symmetrically decorated with a rectangular panel that consists of three parts. The top part is open with a intricately carved  image of Lingzhi arranged in the central part of the  opening.  Below this opening is a wood panel inlaid with images of trees, birds, rocks and a human figure representing the interaction of human with nature.  Underneath this carved panel is a narrow bar decorated with images representing the treasure of a scholar. 

The posts and railings sit securely on the bed frame using tenon joints. The bed frame is waisted with the decorations of inlaid of three bars in dark wood creating a nice contrast with the lighter wood of the frame.  Both the legs and the front apron are ornately decorated.  The apron is decorated with low relief carvings of the thunder scrolls and the legs are in the shape of three units of thunder scroll stacked up on top of each other.