PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Task of conservation. Case studies
pattern and find a matching printing paper. Screen-printing
was not considered due to its high cost, the large of amount of
time it would have taken and the flat appearance of the result.
It was decided to conduct the reconstruction process in situ with
the aid of stencils and hand-colouring.
A paper (Ingres paper 455 ) with similar embossed texture
and tone was found for the base. It was cut into the shape of
the lacunae and inserted into the cavities, which allowed for a
smooth transition from old to new material. Although the wallpaper
had been printed in 15 colours, it was decided to use only
eight colours to mark the basic movement, shades and highlights
of the pattern. First, stencils were cut to print the two
main colours of the pattern: dark beige and bluish-green. (Fig.
159) An additional five or six colours were painted by hand to
imitate the dynamics of the pattern. (Fig. 160) The background
was toned with dry pastels by hand to leave a slightly patchy
outcome similar to the appearance of the original. The patchiness
would not have been easy to achieve with a screen-printed
reconstruction. (Fig. 161, Fig. 162)
455
Zelluloos – Papers from the Whole World, Ingres Paper, accessed February 27, 2013,
http://www.zelluloos.eu/product/ingrespaber.
280