Window blind of linen, painted in oil colours with a romantic landscape; British, 1800-1825.

The window blind, which is of roller form, is painted on the internal side in oil colours with a romantic landscape featuring a mountainous terrain with a river, trees and vegetation in the foreground. The river is spanned by a lancet-arched hump-back bridge over which a farmer, mounted on horseback, is driving cattle. A third of the canvas is devoted to a depiction of the sky.When the blind is lit from behind, the sunlit clouds and mountains contrast with the rich colouring of the trees and vegetation. Most of the paint has been applied in thin washes but there are touches of paint in the trees that are glossy and more thickly applied. Paint losses reveal what appears to be a very thin cream-coloured ground and faint chalk or pencil lines are visible in the outline of the mountains under the light-coloured paint. The support is made of a very fine linen which has been hemmed with zig-zag stitches to a depth of 10mm at the sides. There are two parallel lines of unpicked stitches on the upper edge about 110mm apart indicating the position of the sleeve to hold the upper roller. A sleeve made from a different fabric which has been coated with a glossy black substance is attached to the lower edge. The area above this sleeve on the reverse has been reinforced with a fine plain weave linen of a slightly heavier weight than the ground fabric for 100-110 mm from the sleeve.

This window blind was offered for sale at Sotheby's, 34-35 New Bond Street, London W1 2AA in a sale of Important English Furniture on 20 November 2007 but was unsold. It was purchased by the V&A in a sale of Fine English Furniture and Works of Art at Bonhams on 19 March 2008.

Historical significance: This transparent blind is a rare survival. Most perished due to their fragile construction or were discarded because of changes in fashion.

Painted transparent window blinds were very fashionable from 1800 until the 1840s and many are shown in contemporary views of interiors. Romantic landscapes, Gothic castles and ruins, or panels of stained glass, were all popular designs for transparent blinds. The blinds were fitted with a roller mechanism and hung inside the window frame so that the painted effect was best appreciated against the natural light. Specialist firms supplying Venetian and exterior blinds also sold transparent blinds. In 1807 Edward Orme's book An Essay on Transparent Prints, offered advice about techniques and materials for painted transparent blinds. He also illustrated a range of suitable designs, including Italian, Scottish and Welsh landscapes, a hermit's cave and Gothic stained glass.Orme recommended designs with the maximum amount of contrast of light and shade for the best effect. See also, Nathaniel Whittock, The decorative painters' and glaziers' guide..., London, 1827, pp. 166-175, plates XLIV, XLV and XLVI.

This painted transparent window blind is a rare survival of the Regency fascination with illusionary effects in interior decoration. Painted transparent blinds were very fashionable from 1800 until the 1840s and many examples are shown in contemporary views of interiors.The blinds were fitted with a roller mechanism and hung inside the window frame.

Romantic landscapes, like the one decorating this blind, Gothic castles and ruins, and panels of stained glass, were all popular designs. Edward Orme's book An Essay on Transparent Prints, which was published in 1807, recommended designs with a maximum amount of contrast of light and shade for the best effect. When this blind is lit from behind, the sunlit clouds and mountains contrast with the rich colouring of the trees and vegetation. The blind is a rare survival. Most have perished because of their fragile construction or were discarded because of changes in fashion.

T.37-2008