PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Task of conservation. Case studies
5.2.5. Conservation concept and
treatment of the Schablonentapete wallpaper
The papered wall had been divided into two parts: the upper part
was covered with a wallpaper and a matching border imitating
a medieval textile and the lower part with a paper covered with
wood grain. The pattern of the Schablonentapete, covering the
upper section of the wall, had been stencilled with black ink on
a golden background. (Fig. 129)
The wallpapers had been dismounted before they were
handed over to the conservators. According to the plans of the
interior architect, the original room was to be turned into a
walk-through closet. Thus the wallpaper could not be returned
to its original location for exhibition. A new solution needed to
be found. Besides the walls, the only vertical surface that could
be papered was provided by the closet itself. It was decided to
reconstruct the original decorative scheme (wallpaper with
wood-grained paper) and mount it on shoji frames, which would
serve as the sliding doors of the closet. (Fig. 130) In my opinion,
this compromise led to the alteration of the room’s function and
the preservation of the historic wallpaper in its original room.
Furthermore, the wallpaper kept its decorative function and
physical integrity, which would have been lost if it had been
preserved in an archive.
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