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In 1885, French designer Gabriel Viardot completed a masterpiece, the Opium Bed. The bed depicts a shishi, or Japanese temple guardian (lion form), warding off evil spirits (open mouth). Viardot specialized in exotic furniture inspired by Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese design.
Original opium, or lo-han (luohanchuang), beds were of Chinese origin. These wood platforms stood on four legs, and were surrounded by three, usually delicately carved sides (with the open side being the longest). They would be strewn with silk pillows for the reclining dreamer's comfort.
One of Viardot's other daybeds, carved in the form of a reclining dragon, fetched $56,000 at a Southeby's auction in February 2004. However, most of his work has sold for below $5000 (a number of pieces have shown up in Australia in the past few years). [source]
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