Concave medallions with roses, wave scrolls and winding vines. Large diamond shapes with Medusa head. A vine of palmettes, buds and flowers decorate space between circles and diamonds. White, two pinks, two reds, peach, light yellow, two greens, black, dark brown on a blue ground. Straight match.
wallpapers
wove paper
block printing (relief printing process)
Wallpaper
"Cherished Possessions": The prosperity following the American Revolution sparked a building boom as New Englanders constructed new homes, signaling their confidence in the future. The wall finish of choice for the interior of these houses was wallpaper. French wallpapers were especially desirable.
This example, from the home of Philemon Russell of Charlestown, Massachusetts, incorporates colorful Medusa heads and neoclassical palmettes, part of the classical vocabulary that was enormously popular in Europe and America.
Original To Russell House,
643
Probably Malaine, Joseph-Laurent (Designer)
Hartmann, Risler & Cie (Manufacturer)
France
35 1/4 x 22 (HxW) (inches)
Anonymous
1950.529
"Wallpaper in New England"; p.89; plate 9, p. 105.
Somerville (Middlesex county, Massachusetts)
Rixheim (Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France)
France
Title Accession Number 1950.529B
Block Printed
Wall Fragment
Blue
Original
Handmade
Handmade
Wove
Neoclassical
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