Thursday, February 5, 2009

The Lost Wallpaper


Everyone who attended the prestigious Winter Antiques Show in New York which just closed this past Sunday can't stop talking about the beautiful chinoiserie wallpaper from Harewood House in England that was being offered by Mallett Antiques. It is quite an amazing story. In 1988, 20 sheets of hand painted Chinese wallpaper were found in the outbuildings of Harewood House. It is believed that these sheets were from rolls hung by Thomas Chippendale's men in the Chintz Bedroom in 1769. The paper has been conserved and hung in the East Bedroom. It is described as the most beautiful example of Chinese wallpaper in the world. Below are closeup details of this amazing wallpaper. The sheets being sold by Mallett were from the Chintz Dressing Room which were discovered along with that from the Chintz Bedroom. For those of you like me who adore chinoiserie this wallpaper is the exemplar.



























(photos courtesy of harewood.org)

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