Wallpaper thumbnail 1
Wallpaper thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 56c

Wallpaper

ca. 1700 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
By the 1720s Chinese hand-painted wallpapers were arriving in Britain in sufficient quantities to become fashionable as part of interior design schemes in the oriental style. The London paper-stainers (wallpaper makers) soon began to exploit this fashion by producing printed wallpapers which imitated the style of the Chinese imports.

Materials & Making
The outlines of the motifs and the cross-hatching on this wallpaper have been printed and all the colours added using stencils, except for the black ground colour, which appears to have been painted in free-hand. After printing and stencilling, this wallpaper was varnished, possibly to give a rich sheen to the surface so that it resembled Japanese lacquer, which was also fashionable in British interiors at this time.

Subjects Depicted
The Chinese wallpapers were decorated with flowering trees, birds and animals, or figures, in a non-repeating design. The maker of this wallpaper has included similar motifs - flowers, squirrels, peacocks, parakeets and a Chinese figure - but the design lacks the sophistication and the elegance of the Chinese originals. It is also crudely drawn, and has a repeating pattern.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Woodblock print with colour stencilling, on paper, varnished
Brief description
Six portions of wallpaper forming a repeat pattern of squirrels, peacocks, parakeets and chinoiserie figures among flowers and foliage; Woodblock print with colour stencilling, on paper, varnished; Provenance: Ord House, Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland; English; ca. 1700.
Physical description
Six portions of wallpaper forming a repeat pattern of squirrels, peacocks, parakeets and chinoiserie figures among flowers and foliage; Woodblock print with colour stencilling, on paper, varnished.
Dimensions
  • Approx. height: 259cm
  • Width: 62cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 18/11/1999 by DW external frame dimensions: 228 by 72.5 cm x 3. The length is an estimate as the object is heavily creased and will be flattened.
Gallery label
British Galleries: The Chinese first exported handpainted wallpapers to England in the 1690s. This printed wallpaper was made in imitation of such imports. The designer included Chinese figures and colourful birds. Wallpapers were popular as part of interior design schemes in an oriental style.(27/03/2003)
Object history
Provenance: Ord House, Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
By the 1720s Chinese hand-painted wallpapers were arriving in Britain in sufficient quantities to become fashionable as part of interior design schemes in the oriental style. The London paper-stainers (wallpaper makers) soon began to exploit this fashion by producing printed wallpapers which imitated the style of the Chinese imports.

Materials & Making
The outlines of the motifs and the cross-hatching on this wallpaper have been printed and all the colours added using stencils, except for the black ground colour, which appears to have been painted in free-hand. After printing and stencilling, this wallpaper was varnished, possibly to give a rich sheen to the surface so that it resembled Japanese lacquer, which was also fashionable in British interiors at this time.

Subjects Depicted
The Chinese wallpapers were decorated with flowering trees, birds and animals, or figures, in a non-repeating design. The maker of this wallpaper has included similar motifs - flowers, squirrels, peacocks, parakeets and a Chinese figure - but the design lacks the sophistication and the elegance of the Chinese originals. It is also crudely drawn, and has a repeating pattern.
Bibliographic references
  • Oman, Charles C., and Hamilton, Jean. Wallpapers: a history and illustrated catalogue of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Sotheby Publications, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982.
  • Saunders, Gill. Wallpaper in Interior Decoration. V&A Publications. London. 2002. pp. 71. pl 60.
Collection
Accession number
E.5311-1958

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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