PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Discussing principles of conservation
In the Runeberg Home Museum in Porvoo, Finland, several
layers of historic wallpaper have been covered up to allow
for their preservation in situ. They were researched and documented
without removing them. After a layer corresponding to
the period when the building was inhabited by a famous Finnish
poet, Johan Ludvig Runeberg, and his family had been examined,
the historic layer was either restored or reconstructed. The wallpapers
that were going to be reconstructed were not removed,
but preserved in their original location instead. Before covering
the walls with reconstructions, loose areas were consolidated
and fixed to the wall. 272
A similar preservation solution was chosen in the Käsmu
church, where three layers of historic wallpaper had survived
in situ and were covered with a reconstruction. The wallpapers
dated back to the 1860s, the 1890s and to the beginning of the
20th century. According to the research, the second layer was
probably applied to the walls when a new organ was installed
in the church. Since the wallpaper had formed a stylistic unity
with the organ and the rest of the room, it was decided to restore
it as it appeared in the 1890s. However, the original wallpaper
had lost its aesthetic appearance and had been covered by
another historic layer. Thus, to preserve the unity of all three
historic layers, it was decided to cover them up with a layer of
cardboard and create a reconstruction which would re-create
the effect of the chosen historic wall decoration. 273 The wallpaper
reconstruction project carried out in the Käsmu church is
the only known example of its kind in Estonia. It was carried
out by Kristiina Ribelus and her team. 274
As mentioned above, instead of preserving wallpapers in
their original location, they are often stripped from the wall
during or after research has been carried out. As a result, very
few examples are left in situ and very little is handed over to
archives. Commonly, samples in the archives are too small to
272
Selja Flink, Runebergin koti – rakentamisesta restaurointiin (Jyväskylä: Gummerrus
Kirjapaino Oy, 2006). Summarized.
273
Kristiina Ribelus, e-mail message to author, January 18, 2013.
274
The project was carried out in summer 2012.
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