Papier-mâché workbox, mid-19th century
Place of origin: Great Britain, Uk (made)
Date: 1840-1870 (made)
Artist/Maker: Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques: Papier-mâché, with painted decoration and shell inlay
Credit Line: Given by Miss E. H. Sutherland
Museum number: W.13:1 to 11-1951
Papier-mâché became a fashionable material for small items of domestic use and decoration during the mid-19th century. Trays, tea caddies, screens, vases and even furniture were produced using a range of decorative techniques and styles. With its delicate floral motifs and shell 'inlay', this workbox - perhaps used for keeping items such as cotton thread and needles - is a typical papier-mâché product from the period.
Time frame:
Papier-mâché was welcomed at the Great Exhibition of 1851 as a promising material and described in the catalogue for the exhibition as an 'important branch of the industrial arts'. Despite this, the industry fell into decline in the 1860s as novelty began to take precedence over quality and good design.
Materials & Making :
The workbox has been painted in imitation of East Asian lacquer and coated with smooth layers of varnish. It is likely that the mother-of-pearl decoration, known as 'inlay', was achieved using a technique patented in 1825 by Jennens & Betteridge, the most famous firm of papier-mâché manufacturers. First the pieces of pearl flake were shaped with acid. Then the mother-of-pearl was attached to the papier-mâché form and the paint built up around it. Finally the surface was rubbed with pumice until the mother-of-pearl and surface were level.
