Description
This antique Welsh oak cradle on rockers is dated 1695, and, unusually, is carved with the Welsh dragon.
Excellent colour and patination. The removable zinc liner was added later presumably when this cradle was used as a planter.
In the canopy above there is a small recess probably where a small distracting object would have be placed, much as we today would distract a baby with a ‘mobile’. This is a rare feature in a 17th century cradle. In this case we suggest the small object may have been a tiny bird.
Ralph Edwards illustrates a related carved ‘Hooded Cradle dated 1663’ on p. 275 of ‘The Shorter Dictionary of English Furniture’.
