Fragment of a Wall Hanging
ca. 1600 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This panel forms part of a set of cloths painted to simulate wood panelling. The survival of the panels is most unusual. It is due to the fact that they were covered up by wooden panelling soon after their installation. They were found when the panelling was temporarily removed in 1951.
Materials & Making
The cloth is woven in coarse white yarn and has a white powder on the back. It was painted in tempera, a type of paint in which the dry pigments are mixed with egg yolk. Tempera dries quickly and is difficult to blend. It is also rather brittle.
Here, to provide a smooth, rigid support for the canvas, a layer of plaster was applied to the wall. The canvas was then nailed to the plaster at top and bottom.
Time
Hertfordshire inventories of the 16th and 17th centuries indicated that painted cloths were widely used to decorate walls of the more important rooms, such as the hall or bedchambers.
This panel forms part of a set of cloths painted to simulate wood panelling. The survival of the panels is most unusual. It is due to the fact that they were covered up by wooden panelling soon after their installation. They were found when the panelling was temporarily removed in 1951.
Materials & Making
The cloth is woven in coarse white yarn and has a white powder on the back. It was painted in tempera, a type of paint in which the dry pigments are mixed with egg yolk. Tempera dries quickly and is difficult to blend. It is also rather brittle.
Here, to provide a smooth, rigid support for the canvas, a layer of plaster was applied to the wall. The canvas was then nailed to the plaster at top and bottom.
Time
Hertfordshire inventories of the 16th and 17th centuries indicated that painted cloths were widely used to decorate walls of the more important rooms, such as the hall or bedchambers.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Canvas panel, painted in tempera |
| Brief description | Fragment of a wall hanging, tempera on canvas, English, ca. 1600 |
| Physical description | Painted canvas panel simulating wood panelling. The cloth is woven in coarse white yarn and has a white powder on the back. It was painted in tempera. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | British Galleries:
Painted cloth hangings were frequently used in place of tapestry, but few survive. Sometimes they were painted with figures to look like tapestry, but this one imitates luxurious materials, oak and tortoiseshell. This fragment has survived because real wooden panelling fixed directly over it.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Given by Dorothy E. Hart |
| Object history | Painted for the upper room of The Lockers, at Hemel Hempsted, Hertfordshire |
| Summary | Object Type This panel forms part of a set of cloths painted to simulate wood panelling. The survival of the panels is most unusual. It is due to the fact that they were covered up by wooden panelling soon after their installation. They were found when the panelling was temporarily removed in 1951. Materials & Making The cloth is woven in coarse white yarn and has a white powder on the back. It was painted in tempera, a type of paint in which the dry pigments are mixed with egg yolk. Tempera dries quickly and is difficult to blend. It is also rather brittle. Here, to provide a smooth, rigid support for the canvas, a layer of plaster was applied to the wall. The canvas was then nailed to the plaster at top and bottom. Time Hertfordshire inventories of the 16th and 17th centuries indicated that painted cloths were widely used to decorate walls of the more important rooms, such as the hall or bedchambers. |
| Associated objects |
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| Bibliographic reference | James Ayres: Domestic Interiors - The British Tradition, 1500 - 1850. (New Haven, London, 2003), figs. 191-2, p. 133 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.41-1952 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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