PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Task of conservation. Case studies
From July 2011 until March 2012 several rooms were restored
in the Esterházy Palace for the exhibition Das Appartement der
Fürstin. The exhibition opened on 29 March 2012. The main focus
of the exhibition was on three ladies: Maria Josepha Hermenegilde
(1768–1845), née Princess von und zu Liechtenstein and the wife
of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II, Maria Theresia (1794–1874), née
Princess von Thurn und Taxis and the wife of Prince Paul Anton
Esterházy III, and Lady Sarah Frederica (1822–1853), the daughter
of George Child-Villiers, Earl of Jersey. 429 The exhibition also
featured the historic setting of their apartments.
Besides several other rooms in the west wing of the palace,
two salons, embellished with historic chinoiserie wallpapers, were
restored. The author will focus in detail on these two salons, one
of which was used as the princess’ bedroom and the other one
as the princess’ writing room.
5.4.2. Princess’ bedroom.
Situation preceding conservation
Originally the colour scheme of the bedroom was blue, which
created a calming and cool atmosphere. The wallpaper, curtains,
large four-poster bed and upholstered furniture were all in this
shade. The white lacquered furniture and the red of the marble
console tabletop added striking contrasts to the overall colour
scheme. In the mid-19th century, portraits transformed the room
into a place of family commemoration. 430 The current appearance
of the room dates back to the 20th century. Two large mirrors
were added, together with console tables with their chinoiserie
carvings and exquisite 18th-century Chinese wallpapers. 431
After the devastation of the Second World War, the wallpapers
were combined from different halls to cover the walls
of the salon. This explains the difference in the motifs: flowers
and birds on the one hand, and genre scenes on the other. 432
429
Margit Kopp, The Apartement of the Princess (Eisenstadt: Esterházy Privatstiftung,
2012), 3.
430
Ibid., 13.
431
Ibidem.
432
Schloss Esterházy, Large Chinese Salon, accessed January 5, 2013,
http://esterhazy.at/en/esterhazypalace/680059/Esterhzy-Palace-in-detail?direct=
680066&_vl_backlink=/en/esterhazypalace/680057/index.do&selChannel.
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