Workbox
1840-1870 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Papier-mâché became a fashionable material for small items of domestic use and decoration during the mid-19th century. Trays, tea caddies, screens, vases and even furniture were produced using a range of decorative techniques and styles. With its delicate floral motifs and shell 'inlay', this workbox - perhaps used for keeping items such as cotton thread and needles - is a typical papier-mâché product from the period.
Time
Papier-mâché was welcomed at the Great Exhibition of 1851 as a promising material and described in the catalogue for the exhibition as an 'important branch of the industrial arts'. Despite this, the industry fell into decline in the 1860s as novelty began to take precedence over quality and good design.
Materials & Making
The workbox has been painted in imitation of East Asian lacquer and coated with smooth layers of varnish. It is likely that the mother-of-pearl decoration, known as 'inlay', was achieved using a technique patented in 1825 by Jennens & Betteridge, the most famous firm of papier-mâché manufacturers. First the pieces of pearl flake were shaped with acid. Then the mother-of-pearl was attached to the papier-mâché form and the paint built up around it. Finally the surface was rubbed with pumice until the mother-of-pearl and surface were level.
Papier-mâché became a fashionable material for small items of domestic use and decoration during the mid-19th century. Trays, tea caddies, screens, vases and even furniture were produced using a range of decorative techniques and styles. With its delicate floral motifs and shell 'inlay', this workbox - perhaps used for keeping items such as cotton thread and needles - is a typical papier-mâché product from the period.
Time
Papier-mâché was welcomed at the Great Exhibition of 1851 as a promising material and described in the catalogue for the exhibition as an 'important branch of the industrial arts'. Despite this, the industry fell into decline in the 1860s as novelty began to take precedence over quality and good design.
Materials & Making
The workbox has been painted in imitation of East Asian lacquer and coated with smooth layers of varnish. It is likely that the mother-of-pearl decoration, known as 'inlay', was achieved using a technique patented in 1825 by Jennens & Betteridge, the most famous firm of papier-mâché manufacturers. First the pieces of pearl flake were shaped with acid. Then the mother-of-pearl was attached to the papier-mâché form and the paint built up around it. Finally the surface was rubbed with pumice until the mother-of-pearl and surface were level.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 11 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Papier-mâché, with painted decoration and shell inlay |
| Brief description | Small black workbox in papier-mâché, with floral panels painted on the doors. British, 1840-1870 |
| Physical description | Rectangular workbox in papier-mâché, with painted decoration and shell inlay, supported by a protruding base of serpentine outline. The top is slightly domed, and is hinged, covering a shallow compartment fitted as a workbox. Two doors in front with three drawers behind them, the lower one fitted with a glass ink pot. The doors are painted with bunches of flowers in polychrome with borders of gilt scrolls and foliage. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given by Miss E. H. Sutherland |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type Papier-mâché became a fashionable material for small items of domestic use and decoration during the mid-19th century. Trays, tea caddies, screens, vases and even furniture were produced using a range of decorative techniques and styles. With its delicate floral motifs and shell 'inlay', this workbox - perhaps used for keeping items such as cotton thread and needles - is a typical papier-mâché product from the period. Time Papier-mâché was welcomed at the Great Exhibition of 1851 as a promising material and described in the catalogue for the exhibition as an 'important branch of the industrial arts'. Despite this, the industry fell into decline in the 1860s as novelty began to take precedence over quality and good design. Materials & Making The workbox has been painted in imitation of East Asian lacquer and coated with smooth layers of varnish. It is likely that the mother-of-pearl decoration, known as 'inlay', was achieved using a technique patented in 1825 by Jennens & Betteridge, the most famous firm of papier-mâché manufacturers. First the pieces of pearl flake were shaped with acid. Then the mother-of-pearl was attached to the papier-mâché form and the paint built up around it. Finally the surface was rubbed with pumice until the mother-of-pearl and surface were level. |
| Bibliographic reference | The following excerpt is taken from Jones, Yvonne, Japanned Papier-Mâché and Tinware c. 1740-1940. Woodbridge, Antique Collectors' Club, 2012 (ISBN 978 1 85149 686 0), p.23-27:
‘Paper is believed to have been invented in China in the second century AD, and the Chinese art of making papier mâché objects is almost as ancient, but knowledge of paper-making spread only very slowly and it not reach Europe until the 12th century. Paper-mills were established in France in the late 15th century and soon after, French craftsmen began using paper pulp to make architectural ornaments, snuff boxes and other small articles. There were few paper mills in England until the late 17th century, so there was little pulp from which to make comparable articles, the paper imported from France being far too expensive to be pulped for the purpose.
By the 18th century, however, there were two quite distinct branches of paper mâché manufacture in England. One was allied to the making of paper hangings, and the other, to the japanning industry. Both branches took their lead from France and this, together with the name, has not only perpetuated the myth that papier mâché was French in origin, but also overshadowed its ancient eastern history.
Not only was the term papier mâché not recognised in 18th century French dictionaries, but the Journal de l’Agriculture du Commerce (1778) sourced it to England and to the first edition of Dossie’s book, The Handmaid to the Arts (1758). Its occurrence, much later in the French edition of the Paris Exhibition catalogue of 1855, may simply have been the result of the translation of texts supplied by English manufacturers. The term is, however, currently used in France today.
It has been suggested that the term derives from problems of communication between English employers and French émigré workers in the 17th century when papier mâché was probably taken to mean ‘mashed paper’ (or chewed paper)…. The crux was the cachet of a French sounding name and the penchant in some quarters if fashionable society in the late 18th century to look upon anything French as highly sophisticated.
…
Some of the advantages of papier mâché, gleaned from contemporary records, partly explain its attractions and may have been sufficient, at least until the mid-19th century, to outweigh what will be seen as its long and labour intensive production processes. Foremost was its suitability for japanning, which was much in vogue in the 18th century.
...
Furthermore, because it could be moulded into various forms, it required no joinery and was thus incredibly strong. As solid as wood, though less hard than most, it was said to blunt tools sooner, and although heavier in mass, its strength allowed it to be used in thin sections, rendering it perfect for small light objects….By the mid-19th century, it was found that it could be steam-moulded into any curve without fear of splitting. In short, it was considered superior to both wood and metal for being lighter, sounder, and admitting of a more beautiful finish’. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.13:1 to 11-1951 |
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| Record created | February 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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