Sentence:  The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. [...]  The bed was the most extravagant piece.  Its graceful cane half <WSD>tester</WSD> rose high towards the cornice and was so festooned in carved white wood that the effect was positively insecure, as if the great couch were trimmed with icing sugar. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A canopy over a bed.