Also known as charpoy, our hand made beds are an ancient furniture style still used extensively today throughout India. Traditionally one would lie directly on top of the ropes without a mattress. They were most often built of natural woods, such as our own designs, but were sometimes elaborately painted in brilliant colors and patterns.

References to them can be found as far back as the 14th Century, when Islamic explorer Ibn Batuta describes them “every traveler should have his own bed, which his slave carries about on his head. Consist(ing) of four conical legs…between they plait a sort of ribbon of silk or cotton. When you lie on it you need nothing else to render the bed sufficiently elastic.”

Our charpoys are built by hand, much as they have been for many hundreds of years. The frame is constructed from solid Margosa wood using mortise and tenon joinery. The art of weaving the rope mattress is called manjaa unena. This process starts with the tying of a Jee (Life knot) at one corner of the bed, followed by the main weave and finally the addition of the tension strings. The finishing process of tightening is rigorous and repeated many times in order to get the tension perfect.

Handmade and exclusive to Pfeifer Studio, our woven rope beds are both from the past and a nod to the future. Click here to learn more.