Papier Mache - Antiques Info

Papier Mâché
Papier Mâché Furniture by Amy Gale
Papier-mâché hardly qualifies as a saleroom rarity, but it can be a
challenge to find distinctive pieces in good condition. Recognizing
them though, is easy. The black japanned surface, the painted
flowers, and the mother of pearl inlay all mark out papier-mâché as
quintessentially Victorian.
1
Papier-mâché was used to manufacture a
range of objects - even pianos: this one sold
at Christie’s, London for £5,735, Feb 04.
2
Peacocks were a popular motif for papiermâché trays. (Skinner, £1,195, Jan 05)
3
Mother of pearl inlay was one characteristic of a nineteenth century papier-mâché
cabinet desk, Neal Auction, New Orleans,
£3,868, Oct 04.
ANTIQUES INFO - March/April 07
However despite its Victorian reputation, the origins of English papier-mâché date back to
the seventeenth century, when a compound of plaster mixed with organic matter - bark,
nettles, and straw - was first used to create molded architectural ornaments. The idea was
for the frugal decorator to use these prefabricated cornices and rosettes instead of hiring a
plaster craftsman. By the early eighteenth century, the material was also being used to
decorate looking-glass frames, chairs and tables. Its principle application, however,
remained architectural. Beginning in the last quarter of the century, manufacturers began
turning out a range of pretty trifles. Trays dominated production through the early decades
of the nineteenth century. Tea trays, in particular, were made in great numbers, thanks to
the spread of tea-drinking to the middle classes.
From the beginning, paper house-wares were ‘japanned’ - that is, they were covered with
a hard varnish in imitation of Asian lacquer. At first the decoration was simple, with a black
or red ground embellished by a gilt border. By the 1790s, though, the entire surface was
covered. Not surprisingly, Chinese scenes were popular. Representative of this fanciful
Oriental taste is a gilt and black tray with a central painting of a Chinese couple by a
pagoda; it sold at auction in 2002 for £4,541. Regency papier-mâché is highly valued by
collectors. One of the finest pieces to come on the market in recent years is a Chinoiserie
tray that sold at auction in 2005, for £13,512. See 7. Unusually, it does not have the black
faux-lacquer ground, but instead is a brightly painted landscape: a rocky topography
shaded by willow trees, pagoda-like structures, and Chinamen wearing funny pointy hats the artist seems to have omitted no cliché of Eastern life. It is attributed to Henry Clay, who
was the most prominent papier-mâché manufacturer at this time.
Clay promoted papier-mâché as a ‘new material for painting on.’ Another tray, this one
bearing Clay’s stamp, has an all-over floral decoration on black ground. The lush realism
is further proof of the level of skill of the industry’s painters: the final bid was £1,920. (5)
Clay was a pioneer in making papier-mâché furniture. He undertook a series of experiments related to durability. Especially influential were his researches, which he patented in
1772, that resulted in a much stronger material. It was due to Clay that the new papiermâché could be sawn and dovetailed, just like real wood. Jennens and Bettridge, which
took over Clay’s business in 1816, continued to find new uses for papier-mâché. The traditional repertoire of salvers and snuff boxes was expanded to include whole suites of chairs,
and even piano casings. Papier-mâché was celebrated for its sturdiness, but manufacturers
still thought it prudent to build the seating furniture around a wooden frame. Jennens and
Bettridge developed the use of mother of pearl in the decoration of papier-mâché. They
patented a technique in 1825, which makes a useful dividing line in trying to date pieces.
A case in point is a tilt-top table that was put up for sale in 2005 with a £10,000-£21,000
estimate. The mother of pearl inlay indicates that it was made after 1825, although the
Chinoiserie motif might have suggested an earlier date. The lacy cabriole tripod stand is
further proof of early Victorian production.
The papier-mâché industry employed thousands of people at its height in the 1850s. With
its vast workforce and efficient production techniques papier-mâché was manifestly part of
the Industrial Revolution. Papier-mâché was not, however, ‘mass produced.’ It required
skilled workers to mold, varnish, polish, and decorate. Especially well compensated were
the painters, who were paid thirty to fifty shillings a week. Applying the mother of pearl
decoration was a comparably remunerative occupation. By contrast, the ‘blackers’ who
rubbed on the mix of lampblack and tar varnish made only a third that amount. There was,
moreover, a scientific side to the industry, with endless efforts to discover the best formula.
(The bark and nettles seem to have been eliminated at an early stage.) Finding ways to tint
the mother of pearl and developing the bronze powder popular in the 1840s were other
important projects undertaken by the manufacturers and their most inventive workers.
The trade flourished until the 1860s. For journalists, the subject was the occasion for a bit
of nationalist grandstanding. Papier-mâché was an English achievement. Other countries
were never able to make the same vast quantity of first-rate goods. The press was often
critical, though, of the ornate pieces that were exhibited at the many trade shows and world
Papier Mâché
fairs. Instead they favoured its use for
objects like tea caddies and letter racks.
Most pieces that come on the market have
painted and inlay floral decoration on a
black ground. This look is considered
characteristic of Victorian papier-mâché,
even though it dates back to the late 1820s,
some years before Victoria became queen.
Equally misleading is the belief that papiermâché is emblematic of Victorian taste,
when, in fact, it passed from fashion less
than halfway through Victoria’s long reign.
Trays, which had been at the origins of its
popularity, were still made in great numbers.
Skinner in Boston, USA recently sold one
decorated with a peacock (a popular motif)
for £1,195. (2) Often trays were sold in sets,
though most have since been broken up.
Papier-mâché is an important chapter in both
the history of industrial design and the
history of decorative painting. A tray
depicting the Irish coast stands alone as a
very pretty landscape painting: it sold at
auction a few years ago for £2,988. A tray
like this would have been propped up in the
drawing room and been rarely, if ever, used.
The tilt-top table likewise called forth the
skill of a firm’s top painter. One piece that
came up at auction a few years ago shows
Prince Albert deerstalking in Scotland, in a
scene reminiscent of Landseer. The pedestal
base has gilt ornament on a black ground: it
sold for £3,840. (4)
Collectors should be choosy. The cheap
stuff, identifiable by its warping varnish and
transfer-print decoration, was never valued
during the nineteenth century, so there is no
need to collect it today. Most pieces are of
unknown attribution; even the big manufacturers omitted to mark all their work. Focus
instead on quality and condition. A famous
name is of secondary importance.
For Further Reading
Shirley Spaulding DeVoe. English Papiermâché of the Georgian and Victorian
Periods. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan
University Press, 1971.
Jane Toller. Papier-mâché in Great Britain
and America. London: G. Bell, 1962.
7
4
Regency papier-mâché was often decorated
with Chinoiserie motifs; this special tray
sold at Sotheby’s, New York for £13,512,
Oct 05.
8
Prince Albert is evoked in this tilt-top
occasional table. Christie’s, London,
£3,840, Jan 05.
5
Decorative painting was highly valued by
papier-mâché manufacturers.
This tray went for £2,988 at Bonham’s,
London. Nov 03.
A Regency tray by Henry Clay, the most
prominent early manufacturer; the final bid
at Christie’s, London was £1,920, Apr 05.
6
Regional auction houses are the place to
go for pretty papier-mâché objects; this
teapoy recently sold at Dargate, Pittsburgh
for £1,386 in Apr 06.
9
Papier-mâché is popularly associated with
Victorian interiors, but its history dates
back to the late eighteenth century; an
early example of the medium is shown
here, in a pair of Regency pole screens that
sold at auction in Bonham’s, London for
£896, Nov 04.
ANTIQUES INFO - March/April 07
Papier Mâché - continued
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1
One of two Jennens and
Betterige papier mâché trays.
Roseberys, London. Mar 01.
HP: £5800. ABP: £6,822.
Empire Clock, brass framed
desk timepiece
by S Smith &
5
Son Ltd., London, in the form
of a 7.5in dia, papier mâché
globe. Canterbury Auction
Galleries, Kent. Apr 02. HP:
£2,100. ABP: £2,470.
19thC black papier mâché
tray, serpentine edges and
raised border, polychrome
decorated wild strawberries
and other foliage, 31.5in.
Woolley & Wallis, Salisbury.
Aug 00. HP: £1,100.
ABP: £1,293.
Victorian papier mâché
cabinet, shaped plinth base,
17in wide. Clarke Gammon,
Guildford. Nov 99. HP: £640.
ABP: £752.
Victorian octagonal papier
mâché and mother of pearl
inlaid work table, 72cm high.
Wintertons Ltd, Lichfield.
Mar 00. HP: £560. ABP: £658.
20
2
15
Musical automaton, attributed
to Gustav Vichy, c1880,
printed papier mâché head,
arms and body, moving head,
arms and left leg, articulated
tongue, winking eye. Dressed
as a clown with a felt top hat,
clothing distressed, working
order, 79cm high including
hat. Sworders, Stansted
Mountfitchet. Apr 06. HP:
£3,600. ABP: £4,234.
Regency painted papier
mâché tea caddy, decorated
with a continuous maritime
scene depicting shipping at
6 twin compartment
sea,
interior with inner lids, 6.5in.
Gorringes, Lewes. Oct 05.
HP: £1,900. ABP: £2,234.
Matched set of nineteen early
19thC Japanned papier
7
mâché wine coasters, gilt
decorated with floral band.
Locke & England,
Leamington Spa. Mar 05.
HP: £1,800. ABP: £2,117.
8
4
Newton & Son ‘New and
Improved Terrestrial Globe’,
3in with brass gimbal,
papier mâché case, worn
celestial papers. Gorringes,
Lewes. Jun 00. HP: £2,100.
ABP: £2,470.
Two 19thC German Stobwasser papier mâché boxes,
one painted with a hunting
scene, inscribed ‘Die Luther
Buche bei Altenstain’, 10cm,
the other rectangular with a
figure shooting a stag, after a
painting by Ridinger, 9cm.
Sworders, Stansted
Mountfitchet. Feb 05. HP:
£1,100. ABP: £1,293.
12
3
19thC lacquered papier
mâché Continental gaming
box, with a scene after Sir
David Wilkie, five lidded
compartments, each painted
with a different scene, mother
of pearl counters, and an
embroidered cover, 26.5 x
24.5cm. Sworders, Stansted
Mountfitchet. Feb 05. HP:
£3,400. ABP: £3,999.
11
Victorian papier mâché wine
cooler. Hamptons,
Marlborough. Mar 00. HP:
£1,350. ABP: £1,587.
9
Regency
oval papier mâché
tray by Henry Clay, painted
with a shepherd family in a
pastoral landscape, imp’d
makers stamp to reverse, sold
with Ayer of Mount Street
1969 receipt, 29in.
Gorringes, Lewes. Apr 03.
HP: £1,200. ABP: £1,411.
ANTIQUES INFO - March/April 07
Victorian papier mâché tray
by Edward Ball & Co, 82
High Street, Birmingham, 24
x 31in. (repair to rim)
Canterbury Auction
Galleries, Kent. Aug 03. HP:
£720. ABP: £846.
Victorian mother o’ pearl and
abalone inlaid, cut painted
papier mâché salon chair.
Gorringes, Lewes. Sep 00.
HP: £600. ABP: £705.
Victorian mother of pearl
inset papier mâché writing
slope, painted with a panel of
flowers, 13in. Gorringes,
Lewes. Jul 00. HP: £500.
ABP: £588.
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16
Victorian papier mâché work
table, top inlaid with mother
of pearl and painted flowers,
43cm wide. Lambert &
Foster, Tenterden. Feb 04.
HP: £600. ABP: £705.
Pair of Victorian papier
mâché fire screens, waved
edge painted with a floral
bouquet within a gilt scroll
and mother of pearl inlaid
border, concave triform base,
bun feet, 57in high. Andrew
Hartley, Ilkley. Feb 05. HP:
£500. ABP: £588.
17
22
Early 19thC Stobwasser
papier mâché snuff box,
commemorating military
victory by the allies and
dated 1813, 3.6in dia.
Gorringes, Lewes. Jul 03.
HP: £600. ABP: £705.
Early Victorian papier mâché
teapoy, serpentine mother of
pearl inset and gilt decorated
upper section enclosing a
pair of conforming lidded
caddies, 78cm high. Cheffins,
Cambridge. Feb 06. HP:
£500. ABP: £588.
23
18
Graduating pair of oval
papier mâché trays, c1810,
by Clay of Wolverhampton,
impressed
13 ‘Clay Patent’,
48cm & 36cm. R. Winterton,
Burton on Trent, Staffs. Jul
02. HP: £700. ABP: £823.
Collection of painted papier
mâché, coasters & pin trays,
early to late 19thC incl. a
pair of red lacquer bottle
coasters, pair of black and
gilt painted coasters, a pair
of red and gilt floral painted
coasters, chinoiserie and red
ground scallop shape dish,
and further items. Rosebery’s,
London. Sep 04. HP: £580.
ABP: £682.
Pair of Victorian black
papier mâché occasional
chairs by Jennens &
Betteridge, inlaid in mother
of pearl, floral needlework
seats. Canterbury Auction
Galleries, Kent. Feb 04. HP:
£480. ABP: £564.
Papier Mâché
29
35
24
Victorian black lacquered
papier mâché ladies compendium box inlaid with
mother o’ pearl, painted/gilt
decorated, cover has a castle
scene, fitted interior, base
has pull out writing slope,
11in wide. Tring Market
Auctions, Herts. Apr 05. HP:
£480. ABP: £564.
46
Victorian papier mâché tea
tray, painted with flowers on
a black ground, rim gilded
with foliate scrolls, inscribed
No.1226 to rear, 31in wide.
Andrew Hartley, Ilkley. Apr
06. HP: £400. ABP: £470.
40
Early 20thC French bull dog,
flock covered, papier mâché
body, draw string activated
barking mechanism, opening
jaw, 18in long. Amersham
Auction Rooms, Bucks. Nov
03. HP: £280. ABP: £329.
Nest of three Chinese papier
mâché tea tables, decorated
with birds among peony on
simulated bamboo under
frames, 1ft 7in. Gorringes,
Lewes. Sep 00. HP: £210.
ABP: £247.
Victorian papier mâché and
mother of pearl inlaid two
division tea caddy, by Lane
of Birmingham, 8in.
Gorringes, Bexhill. Oct 02.
HP: £160. ABP: £188.
25
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41
30
Pair of Victorian papier
mâché side chairs. Lots Road
Auctions, Chelsea. Oct 99.
HP: £400. ABP: £470.
Victorian papier mâché
pedestal table, 26in wide.
Lots Road Auctions, Chelsea.
Jan 02. HP: £380. ABP: £446.
31
26
36
Victorian mother o’ pearl and
abalone inlaid painted
papier mâché salon chair.
Gorringes, Lewes. Sep 00.
HP: £260. ABP: £305.
Victorian papier mâché
writing casket, with mother
of pearl, painted with panels
of birds, 12in. Gorringes,
Lewes. Jul 00. HP: £200.
ABP: £235.
42
48
37
Victorian mother of pearl
inset papier mâché work box,
10.5in. Gorringes, Lewes. Jul
00. HP: £400. ABP: £470.
Victorian papier mâché tea
caddy. W & H Peacock,
Bedford. Dec 02. HP: £380.
ABP: £446.
32
27
Late Victorian oval papier
mâché tray decorated with
flowers within a gilt painted
border, folding stand, marked
Empress, 79 x 62cm.
Lambert & Foster, Tenterden.
Jan 05. HP: £400. ABP: £470.
Early 19thC black lacquered
papier mâché tea tray, raised
gallery gilt painted, 30in
wide, 22in long, af. Tring
Market Auctions, Herts. May
02. HP: £370. ABP: £435.
Late 19thC French papier
mâché dog, 17in. Gorringes,
Lewes. Jan 05. HP: £360.
ABP: £423.
Pair of Japanese black
lacquered and gilt decorated
papier mâché single panel
fans. Tring Market Auctions,
Herts. Jan 02. HP: £170.
ABP: £199.
Mid 19thC Stobwasser papier
mâché snuff box, painted
with a partially draped
reclining nude, ‘Phyllis’,
chipped corners, signed
inside. Gorringes, Lewes.
Mar 03. HP: £250. ABP: £294.
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34
Victorian Jennens &
Bettridge papier mâché
gaming counter box, Italianate landscape lid enclosing
five smaller boxes with
similar decoration, 12in.
Gorringes, Lewes. Jan 05.
HP: £400. ABP: £470.
Pair of Regency papier
mâché coasters, gilt decoration, 5.25in. Gorringes,
Lewes. Oct 00. HP: £340.
ABP: £399.
19thC lacquered papier
mâché spectacle case,
decorated with a woman and
hunting scene and a circular
box. Gorringes, Lewes. Dec
04. HP: £180. ABP: £211.
Victorian papier mâché box,
wedge shape, decorated with
floral designs framed with
gilt work, 24.5cm. Sworders,
Stansted Mountfitchet. Feb
06. HP: £150. ABP: £176.
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38
33
28
Pair of Regency papier
mâché bottle stands, gilt with
shells and scrolling foliage,
13cm dia. Locke & England,
Leamington Spa. Jan 03.
HP: £260. ABP: £305.
Late 19thC papier mâché
snuff box, lid decorated with
a gypsy girl in traditional
dress dancing with a lace
shawl. Locke & England,
Leamington Spa. Jan 05.
HP: £150. ABP: £176.
Novelty papier mâché
loudspeaker case modelled
as Miss Muffett, 12in.
Gorringes, Lewes. Apr 04.
HP: £220. ABP: £258.
44
49
Pair of shaped 19thC papier
mâché face screens, hand
painted floral sprays within a
mother of pearl and gilt
border, turned ebonised
handles. Dee, Atkinson &
Harrison, Driffield. Feb 06.
HP: £130. ABP: £152.
50
19thC French papier mâché
box, 3in. Gorringes, Lewes.
Jan 05. HP: £170. ABP: £199.
45
Late 19thC hexagonal
lacquered papier mâché box,
14in. Gorringes, Lewes. Apr
04. HP: £170. ABP: £199.
Small pair of Victorian
papier mâché bellows with
shell castle decoration, 12in.
Gorringes, Lewes. Mar 01.
HP: £100. ABP: £117.
ANTIQUES INFO - March/April 07