PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Historic types of wallpaper and decorative schemes of interiors
Figure 39. Chinoiserie wallpaper found in the dressing-room of Countess
Manteuffel in the Puurmani manor.
of four idyllic scenes of Chinese everyday life. (Fig. 39) Similarly
to its Chinese counterparts, the wallpaper was used to decorate
a private room in a lady’s apartment. This wallpaper used to
cover the walls of the dressing room of Countess Manteuffel
in the 1880s, before the walls were covered with a Neo-Rococo
panelling. Since the wallpaper had not been removed before the
new decorative layer was applied, it has survived almost intact.
To make it easier to observe the wallpaper, one of the panels
has been removed and replaced with glass.
The opening of the Russian market at the end of the 18th
century led to the rapid enrichment of landlords. As a result,
gradually more attention was paid to architecture and living
environments. Estonian manor owners frequently employed
the services of foreign building masters, who brought with them
new construction techniques, principles and solutions for interior
decoration. It became common to build manors with large
festive halls, vestibules and separate rooms meant for family
members. 136
136
Maiste, Eestimaa mõisad, 63.
82