Ethiopian Bed with Plaited Leather

Eighty inches long and barely seventeen high, it keeps its opinions close to the ground.

This bed with plaited leather is from Ethiopia in East Africa, 19th century, made of wood and leather. Ethiopian families used leather-strung frames like this to lift a sleeper off the floor, and a bed this low could also seat guests during the day. On this one, the rails are dark reddish brown, ringed with paler leather bindings that give them a striped look. The plaiting is tight and speckled, tan over brown. The legs are bulbous at the top, pinched in the middle and flared at the foot. Eighty inches long, 42 deep, 17 high.

Low, long and unlikely to be hiding anyone.