Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s2.t1.50

c7.s2.t1.50

*II. Furniture.*—We have made several references to the articles of use in the royal palaces. No comprehensive account is available but some idea may be gathered from what follows. Among general furniture, we may mention beds and chairs. The bedsteads, as they are even to-day, were made of four cross-pieces of wood resting on four legs and were woven with braids of cotton or silk (*niwar*). Other kinds of light and easily portable beds were also used, so that a person often carried his bedstead with him on a journey. Among articles of bedding, we may include two mattresses, pillows and coverlets which were sometimes made of silk for the nobility and rich people. Cotton or linen slips were used for the mattresses and pillows and were changed very frequently. The common term for all these articles of bedding, including the bed, was *chaparkhat*.⁴ In some cases, rich people used bedsteads ornamented with gold and silver and fitted with silk mattresses.⁵ The rich Hindus sometimes used beautiful mats known as *Sital-patis* for mattresses and filled their pillows with mustard seeds. Mosquito curtains were also used in some malarious parts of Bengal.¹