New Arts & Crafts Folding Screen with Antique Wallpaper Panels - Hand-Printed Medieval "Leather" Paper

A one-of-a-kind custom Quartersawn White Oak folding screen with solid brass hinges and original embossed “leather” wallpaper panels designed and constructed exclusively for Bolling & Company by Division Street Works, Portland, Ore.

Crown hangings, in which a paper was specially designed to have a decorative treatment at the top of a coordinating but more simple extension of the design below, were one of the hottest trends of first decade or so after 1900, and Birge’s were some of the very best. Crowns moved wallpaper away from all-over repeats and were often used as vertical panels either towards the upper part of a wall or in the space created below a plate rail in a high wainscot around the room, sometimes run continuously or sometimes separated with trim battens or borders. They were also used on folding screens to great effect.

The origins of this design would seem to include Medieval metalwork with a touch of Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts influence. A bold and romantic pattern, it was first seen in the 1905 Birge Book, and is rendered with semi-transparent oil pigments over a metallic ground to give the surface depth and shimmer. A suggestion of rivets and deep shadow lines add to the richness of the look.

Hand block printed, embossed, and stained paper mounted in Quartersawn White Oak custom folding screen. 

One additional full set of this paper is available in remnant form.

Note: This piece is discounted due to a minor and barely noticeable raised area of veneer on the backside of one panel.

Shipping fees are dependent on delivery location.