Wallpaper as Global Surface: V&A Research on Cross-Cultural Decorative Arts
A new study by the Victoria and Albert Museum, led by a cultural anthropologist, examines the evolution of wallpaper sample books into portable objects in the late 19th century. Companies such as Wallpaper Manufacturers Ltd. and Essex & Co. distributed these items worldwide, including to colonial residences and royal settings like Korea’s Changdeokgung palaces. In Europe, wallpapers emulated expensive textiles, while Northeast Asia prized intricately decorated papers featuring motifs like dragons and peonies. Notably, Korean palaces favored floral designs that defied traditional aesthetics. This research is backed by Korea’s Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation.
Key facts
- Wallpaper sample books became portable commodities from the late 19th century onward.
- Wallpaper Manufacturers Ltd. coordinated global circulation with sample books preserved in Britain, Australia, Japan, and India.
- In Europe, wallpaper imitated silk, leather, wood, and stone through illusionistic techniques.
- In Northeast Asia, decorative papers conveyed symbolic meanings through motifs like dragons and phoenixes.
- Korean royal palaces at Changdeokgung used floral wallpapers with illusionistic effects, not Oriental patterns.
- Essex & Co. pattern book of 1899 included 'The Corea Design' and 'The Tokyo Design' by Charles F. A. Voysey.
- Sample books often omitted designer names, obscuring design transmission routes.
- Research supported by Ministry of Education of Republic of Korea and National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2023S1A5B5A16083145).
Entities
Artists
- Charles F. A. Voysey
- J. S. Waite
- Allan Cockshut
- J. G. Potter
- M. Isaac
- Arjun Appadurai
Institutions
- Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
- Whitworth Art Gallery
- Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
- Korea Heritage Service
- Wallpaper Manufacturers Ltd.
- Essex & Co.
- Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea
- National Research Foundation of Korea
Locations
- London
- Paris
- Korea
- Japan
- China
- Britain
- Australia
- India
- Changdeokgung Palace
- Huijeongdang Hall
- Daejojeon Hall
- England