Wallpaper
early 20th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Fragment of metal wall covering, with a raised pattern of chrysanthemums.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Embossed zinc |
| Brief description | Fragment of metal wall covering, with a raised pattern of chrysanthemums; probably produced by Sherard Cowper-Coles; early 20th century. |
| Physical description | Fragment of metal wall covering, with a raised pattern of chrysanthemums. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Mrs N. McLaren |
| Object history | Given by Mrs N. McLaren. |
| Historical context | See SE, p 247: 'The latest comer in relief decorative materials is steel, which is embossed and nailed generally to the rafters.' Sherard Cowper-Coles (1866-1936), was founder of the Faraday Society: 'inventor of an electrical process for making metallic wallpaper in continuous lengths, and at a price in keen competition with that of other embossed and stamped materials for wall- and ceiling decoration. This wallpaper he claimed was damp-proof, fire-proof, economical, far more sanitary, artistic and durable than any existing wallpaper and especially suitable for railway carriages, cabins and damp walls' (A. A. McGregor, Phantom Footsteps, London, 1959, pp 182, 183). The firm of Cowper-Coles, Sherard & Co. were metallurgists, working during the early 20th century and established in Westminster and Chelsea. Cowper-Coles was the inventor of 'sherardizing': coating with zinc by heating with zinc dust in the absence of air. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Bibliographic reference | 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. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.667-1969 |
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| Record created | January 21, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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