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Skänninge wallpaper, sheet printing from Östergötland, circa 1750
Unknown1750
Nordiska Museet
Stockholm, Sweden
There are not many wallpapers from before 1750 in Sweden. One of the oldest Swedish-made wallpapers was produced in Skänninge in Östergötland around 1750. The wallpaper consists of a patterned sheet of paper printed on top of the press, not under it, as was the usual method of wallpaper printing until the introduction of roll printing in the mid-1800s.
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Details
- Title: Skänninge wallpaper, sheet printing from Östergötland, circa 1750
- Creator: Unknown
- Date Created: 1750
- Location Created: Skänninge
- Physical Dimensions: w63 x h53 cm
- More Information: The wallpaper pattern depicts a parrot in a broad oblique frame embellished with tulips and other flowers. Under the bird, as a part of the pattern, there is a cartouche with the text “SKENNINGE FABRIQUE” and along the sides are flowers and fruits. The contour lines of the wallpaper are printed in black while the other colours, green, red and light blue, have been applied afterwards by hand or using a stencil. The wallpaper was made by Natanael Falk in Skänninge, Östergötland, who was given a licence to print wallpaper in 1756. Early wallpapers were printed individually on separate sheets that were put together only when they were applied to the wall. A press was fixed with the print side up on a table. When printing, ink was applied to the press and the sheet of paper was laid on top and rolled over with a roller. As it was impossible to see how the paper came into contact with the press, it was impossible to print several colours by pattern matching. As a result, the sheets had to be coloured by hand. Skänninge wallpaper was already old-fashioned when it was made. The pattern has a baroque character and tries to emulate gilt leather. When this wallpaper was being produced, the rococo style had already reached Stockholm. It was some time before fashionable styles reached rural areas and rustic tastes were much more static than those of the upper classes. The Skänninge wallpaper was probably made for a wealthy countryman with old-fashioned taste. The wallpaper was donated to Nordiska museet by freeholder J. A. Niclasson in November 1884. The donation included a similar sheet of wallpaper, again printed in Småland about 1750. The collection of early Baroque-style printed sheets was supplemented in the 1920s with a couple of sheets from Olof Rosenblad's workshop in Gränna, Småland.
- Materials and Techniques: Sheet printing on rag paper
- Type: Wallpaper
- Rights: Photo: Brigit Brånvall, © Nordiska museet
- External Link: http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/tapetprov/S-NM/NM.0043857A-B
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