Influence from Afar

Chinese Wallpaper design, 18th century, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Chinese produced wallpapers that were made for export, primarily to Europe in the 18th century as part of the movement known as Chinoiserie, in which Chinese porcelains, and in this case wallpaper, were collected and displayed. They were beautiful objects in themselves, but also prized because they were expensive and difficult to obtain.

Tchotchke Domination

Meissen Figure Group, artist Johann JoachimKändler, c. 1745-50, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Meissen porcelain was named after the town where porcelain began to be manufactured in 1710. The key to the success of these European porcelain makers, was that they had managed to replicate the hard-paste porcelain techniques that the Chinese had developed and kept secret for centuries. Most people associate Meissen with highly decorative figurines like the one above, but all different types of ceramic goods were manufactured in the area.

Meissen Tea Canister and Cover 1710-13, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Some of the typical "crossed swords" Meissen marks.

Wildlife at Home

In My Orchard, a wallpaper design by C.F.A. Voysey, 1929, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Another wallpaper design by Voysey, who actually claimed to prefer bare wooden walls to walls covered in paper, certainly did a lot of designs for wallpapers and even had them in his own home, which was called The Orchard.

More Strawberries

Wallpaper design with Strawberries by C.F.A. Voysey, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

This is another Victorian design for wallpaper by the architect and designer Charles Voysey. His work was influenced by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain, and also by the Art Nouveau movement. World War I interfered with his commissions for building homes and decorating them, but in 1931, a retrospective of his work held at the Batsford Gallery, brought recognition for his work.