Wallpaper Border
ca. 1820 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
In the 18th century wallpapers were often fixed to the wall with nails or tacks, rather than pasted up. Printed borders were used to conceal the heads of the tacks and to give a neat and finished appearance to the papered wall. The fashion for using borders continued even when methods of hanging wallpapers changed and borders were no longer strictly necessary. By the early 19th century borders were available in elaborate designs to use as a frieze decoration around the upper part of the room.
Use
Some wallpaper borders were designed to be used vertically. They would have been pasted over each vertical join between the sheets of wallpaper, giving the effect of a room decorated with a succession of framed panels. The design of this border is appropriate to this kind of use because the pattern shows ivy growing up around a rod or staff. It would probably have been used with a matching wallpaper with a pattern of scattered sprigs of ivy.
People
This wallpaper comes from the stock of Messrs Cowtan & Sons Ltd, an important interior decorating company based in Oxford Street London, from the 1830s to the 1930s. They succeeded two other well-known wallpaper suppliers, J. Duppa and J.G. Crace. Cowtan supplied wallpapers to customers all over the country.
In the 18th century wallpapers were often fixed to the wall with nails or tacks, rather than pasted up. Printed borders were used to conceal the heads of the tacks and to give a neat and finished appearance to the papered wall. The fashion for using borders continued even when methods of hanging wallpapers changed and borders were no longer strictly necessary. By the early 19th century borders were available in elaborate designs to use as a frieze decoration around the upper part of the room.
Use
Some wallpaper borders were designed to be used vertically. They would have been pasted over each vertical join between the sheets of wallpaper, giving the effect of a room decorated with a succession of framed panels. The design of this border is appropriate to this kind of use because the pattern shows ivy growing up around a rod or staff. It would probably have been used with a matching wallpaper with a pattern of scattered sprigs of ivy.
People
This wallpaper comes from the stock of Messrs Cowtan & Sons Ltd, an important interior decorating company based in Oxford Street London, from the 1830s to the 1930s. They succeeded two other well-known wallpaper suppliers, J. Duppa and J.G. Crace. Cowtan supplied wallpapers to customers all over the country.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Colour print from wood blocks, on paper |
| Brief description | Portion of wallpaper border with golden vine leaves twisting around a pole, on a pink ground; Colour print from wood blocks, on paper; From the stock of Cowtan & Sons; England; ca. 1820. |
| Physical description | Portion of wallpaper border with golden vine leaves twisting around a pole, on a pink ground; Colour print from wood blocks, on paper. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given by Mr A. L. Cowtan in memory of his father, Arthur Barnard Cowtan, OBE |
| Object history | Given by Mr A. L. Cowtan in memory of his father, Arthur Barnard Cowtan, OBE. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type In the 18th century wallpapers were often fixed to the wall with nails or tacks, rather than pasted up. Printed borders were used to conceal the heads of the tacks and to give a neat and finished appearance to the papered wall. The fashion for using borders continued even when methods of hanging wallpapers changed and borders were no longer strictly necessary. By the early 19th century borders were available in elaborate designs to use as a frieze decoration around the upper part of the room. Use Some wallpaper borders were designed to be used vertically. They would have been pasted over each vertical join between the sheets of wallpaper, giving the effect of a room decorated with a succession of framed panels. The design of this border is appropriate to this kind of use because the pattern shows ivy growing up around a rod or staff. It would probably have been used with a matching wallpaper with a pattern of scattered sprigs of ivy. People This wallpaper comes from the stock of Messrs Cowtan & Sons Ltd, an important interior decorating company based in Oxford Street London, from the 1830s to the 1930s. They succeeded two other well-known wallpaper suppliers, J. Duppa and J.G. Crace. Cowtan supplied wallpapers to customers all over the country. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.62-1939 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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