When Napoleon and Joséphine traveled to Bordeaux on April 4, 1808, the former episcopal palace, which had been the prefecture since 1802, was fitted out as an imperial palace. This bed with straight bedheads bears no stamp and may have been locally made, like most of the furniture supplied to this new residence of power. The front legs are surmounted by very elegant female heads in patinated gilt bronze. The back legs are decorated with a vase in gilt bronze bearing griffin and lyre motifs. The appliqué gilt bronze forms along the front evoke the theme of night: they feature stars and poppy flowers. The subtlety and richness of the bronzes indicate the importance of the recipient. This bed is much more luxurious than the one made for the empress’s bedroom in the same palace and now conserved at Fontainebleau.