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Object Timeline

1938

  • We acquired this object.

1993

2012

2022

2024

  • You found it!

Sidewall (England)

This is a sidewall. It is dated 1675–99 and we acquired it in 1938. Its medium is block-printed and flocked canvas. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.

This is one of the earliest wallcoverings in the collection and dates to the 1670s. Since their introduction wallcoverings have frequently imitated other materials, usually those deemed to be more luxe or exotic. This is a canvas, block-printed and flocked to look like a more expensive textile, like a cut velvet. There are similar examples from this same period that also have applied gold leaf. A number of the very early wallcoverings are printed on textiles. At this early date it could be difficult to obtain the large quantities of good quality paper necessary for making wallpaper, and the textile market was a lot more dependable.

It is credited Museum purchase from Friends of the Museum Fund.

Its dimensions are

183 x 84.5 cm (72 1/16 x 33 1/4 in.)

Cite this object as

Sidewall (England); block-printed and flocked canvas; 183 x 84.5 cm (72 1/16 x 33 1/4 in.); Museum purchase from Friends of the Museum Fund; 1938-44-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Foreign Exchange.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18346261/ |title=Sidewall (England) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=24 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>