The period 1740 to 1900 is referred to as the golden age of
European Papier-Mâché. During this period it became the fashionable
alternative and imitation of authentic Oriental lacquer.
The technique was used to manufacture all things small and decorative, giving rise to today's antique collectibles such as snuff boxes and spectacle cases that are now so widely collected. This article will give a brief history of the rise of the craft and it will highlight the key people in its development in Britain.
Papier-Mâché has a rich and global heritage that began in China where paper was developed during the Han dynasty. An ingenious process created paper, through breaking down plants into fibres, that were then pounded into pulp and dried as paper; the craft of "recycling" paper is where the material originated. It was used to make a variety of objects and was renowned for being very strong but also very light. The knowledge of paper-making and the craft spread to Japan, the Middle East, India and Europe.
With the growth of world-wide trade, Chinese and Japanese lacquer ware became very popular in Europe and a flourishing trade in these products grew.
They were in great demand due to the quality of their lacquer; beautifully crafted, exquisitely painted and decorated, made these products ideal gifts and featured furniture in many European households. During the golden years it did not take long for demand to exceeded supply! This was the green light for the entrepreneurial European craftsmen to seize the opportunity to imitate the success of Lacquer ware and create an indigenous alternative.
Due to the European climate it was near impossible to use the Eastern plants and methods. They had to find an alternative to the Lacquer ware.
Workshops sprang up across Europe mainly in France and England to produce home-grown imitations of Lacquer- ware.
In central England, in the 18th century Papier-Mâché became one of the most important crafts with shops being established primarily in London and the Midlands with Birmingham seen as the center and home of Industry. From the 1740s the process known as "Japanning" became one of the most widely used processes to imitate "Lacquer ware" with items such as snuff boxes.
The history of "Japanning" a technique of varnishing and polishing, to give a smooth glossy finish is likely to have originated with a Birmingham based manufacturer John Baskerville, who was famous for his success in imitating the lacquered pieces from Japan. Linked to Baskerville is his even more acclaimed assistant Henry Clay, who invented and patented (1772) an innovation to produce laminated panels from pasted paper rather than pulped paper. With his technique the panels were sealed with linseed oil making it very strong. It was said that it was equally as durable as wood and as such was used for furniture and other everyday items. This "new" material was ideally suited to "Japanning" (varnishing) and painting: thus together provided the beginning to Britain`s answer to Oriental lacquer.
Clay and his success led to the most famous partnership in the British history of the Papier-Mâché industry, "Jennens and Bettridge", they bought Clay's Birmingham factory in 1816; and from there went from strength to strength and became respected in the antique world for the quality of their products. They are acknowledged for introducing decorative inlays, such as mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, ivory and precious stones. In their heyday they exhibited a number of their products at London's Great Exhibition of 1851, this was the pinnacle for Papier-Mâché as it was hailed as an important material with a bright future!
Large scale production lasted for about a hundred years in Europe but began to decline from about 1870 with the development of other more durable materials.
As an antique collectable Papier-Mâché is popular for boxes of all types, cases, paper/ letter stands, trays, picture frames and Lamp stands. The craft is known for their beautiful decoration, hand painted portraits, landscapes, coats of arms and classical motifs to name but a few with the addition of inlays such as mother of pearl, tortoiseshell, and other precious metals and stones.
I hope you have found this article interesting.
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The technique was used to manufacture all things small and decorative, giving rise to today's antique collectibles such as snuff boxes and spectacle cases that are now so widely collected. This article will give a brief history of the rise of the craft and it will highlight the key people in its development in Britain.
Papier-Mâché has a rich and global heritage that began in China where paper was developed during the Han dynasty. An ingenious process created paper, through breaking down plants into fibres, that were then pounded into pulp and dried as paper; the craft of "recycling" paper is where the material originated. It was used to make a variety of objects and was renowned for being very strong but also very light. The knowledge of paper-making and the craft spread to Japan, the Middle East, India and Europe.
With the growth of world-wide trade, Chinese and Japanese lacquer ware became very popular in Europe and a flourishing trade in these products grew.
They were in great demand due to the quality of their lacquer; beautifully crafted, exquisitely painted and decorated, made these products ideal gifts and featured furniture in many European households. During the golden years it did not take long for demand to exceeded supply! This was the green light for the entrepreneurial European craftsmen to seize the opportunity to imitate the success of Lacquer ware and create an indigenous alternative.
Due to the European climate it was near impossible to use the Eastern plants and methods. They had to find an alternative to the Lacquer ware.
Workshops sprang up across Europe mainly in France and England to produce home-grown imitations of Lacquer- ware.
In central England, in the 18th century Papier-Mâché became one of the most important crafts with shops being established primarily in London and the Midlands with Birmingham seen as the center and home of Industry. From the 1740s the process known as "Japanning" became one of the most widely used processes to imitate "Lacquer ware" with items such as snuff boxes.
The history of "Japanning" a technique of varnishing and polishing, to give a smooth glossy finish is likely to have originated with a Birmingham based manufacturer John Baskerville, who was famous for his success in imitating the lacquered pieces from Japan. Linked to Baskerville is his even more acclaimed assistant Henry Clay, who invented and patented (1772) an innovation to produce laminated panels from pasted paper rather than pulped paper. With his technique the panels were sealed with linseed oil making it very strong. It was said that it was equally as durable as wood and as such was used for furniture and other everyday items. This "new" material was ideally suited to "Japanning" (varnishing) and painting: thus together provided the beginning to Britain`s answer to Oriental lacquer.
Clay and his success led to the most famous partnership in the British history of the Papier-Mâché industry, "Jennens and Bettridge", they bought Clay's Birmingham factory in 1816; and from there went from strength to strength and became respected in the antique world for the quality of their products. They are acknowledged for introducing decorative inlays, such as mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, ivory and precious stones. In their heyday they exhibited a number of their products at London's Great Exhibition of 1851, this was the pinnacle for Papier-Mâché as it was hailed as an important material with a bright future!
Large scale production lasted for about a hundred years in Europe but began to decline from about 1870 with the development of other more durable materials.
As an antique collectable Papier-Mâché is popular for boxes of all types, cases, paper/ letter stands, trays, picture frames and Lamp stands. The craft is known for their beautiful decoration, hand painted portraits, landscapes, coats of arms and classical motifs to name but a few with the addition of inlays such as mother of pearl, tortoiseshell, and other precious metals and stones.
I hope you have found this article interesting.
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