PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Kadri Kallaste (b. 1983) trained as a paper conservator
at the Estonian Academy of the Arts. She has also
studied in the Restoration Department of the University
of Ljubljana and the Institute for Conservation and
Restoration of the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.
During her studies, she has had several internships in
various institutions, including the Conservation Center
Kanut and Estonian Art Museum in Tallinn, the National
Archive of Slovenia in Ljubljana and Cole & Son Ltd.,
a manufacturer of hand-printed wallpapers in London. Kadri Kallaste’s main
area of study is the research and practical preservation of historic wallpapers
in situ. She has worked on numerous wall-paper preservation projects
in Estonia and abroad, including objects in Austria and at the German
Wallpaper Museum in Kassel, Germany.
Preservation of wallpapers as parts of interiors.
Addressing issues of wallpaper conservation on the basis of projects
carried out in Austria, Estonia and Romania
Although wallpapers form a unified whole with other decorative details
of interiors, very few of them are preserved in their original locations. At the
same time, contemporary conservation theory emphasizes the importance
of preserving wallpapers in their primary locations. Obviously, conflicts arise
between practical preservation options, expectations of the public or owners
and widely acknowledged preservation principles.
If in preserving historic wallpapers in their original location in situ is
not feasible, other solutions should be considered carefully. Depending on
several criteria, wallpapers can be returned to their original locations after
conservation treatment, integrated into new appropriate environments or
preserved in museums.
The goal of the thesis is to discuss and develop a set of methodological
guidelines helpful in maintaining historic wallpapers, preserved either intact
or in fragments, as parts of interiors.