mid seventeenth century · [Holland?]
by SALVAGE
[Holland?], mid seventeenth century. Good; overall rubbing to the surface; the leather has torn through the edge mounting on three sides; the varnished surface has darkened over the years obscuring coloring - green is retained, but as a darker shade.. Embossed, painted, and varnished leather wall panel. The design features scrolls, flowers, and birds. It measures appx. 37 x 30 inches and has been mounted (with what appear to be upholstery tacks along the edges) to a wooden board backing some time in the late nineteenth century. The panel is composed of two skins with a seam running horizontally appx. one third of the way up from the bottom.
Cuir de Cordoue, wrought leather, or gilt leather in various styles was manufactured in panels and assembled as wall coverings as an alternate to tapestries in the seventeenth century. The technique reached the Low Countries in the early sixteenth century and became a valued export product throughout northern Europe until about 1700. Calf skins were used for the panels. They were shaped by being impressed over carved wooden molds to bring the designs into relief. The panel offered here has "floral rosettes" (apparently once rose/red colored) and scrowls (in green) in relief. The birds are modelled in blind on the surface and colored. There appear to be highlights in yellow or gilt that have now darkened with age. The panel appears to have been installed at shoulder height because of a uniform horizontal rubbing across its lower half. The process and product were expensive luxuries. There is a flamboyant example of the medium installed in Gallery #636 of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Few survive. The Hals Museum in Haarlem retains an entire room panelled in a similar manner. (Inventory #: 21034)
Cuir de Cordoue, wrought leather, or gilt leather in various styles was manufactured in panels and assembled as wall coverings as an alternate to tapestries in the seventeenth century. The technique reached the Low Countries in the early sixteenth century and became a valued export product throughout northern Europe until about 1700. Calf skins were used for the panels. They were shaped by being impressed over carved wooden molds to bring the designs into relief. The panel offered here has "floral rosettes" (apparently once rose/red colored) and scrowls (in green) in relief. The birds are modelled in blind on the surface and colored. There appear to be highlights in yellow or gilt that have now darkened with age. The panel appears to have been installed at shoulder height because of a uniform horizontal rubbing across its lower half. The process and product were expensive luxuries. There is a flamboyant example of the medium installed in Gallery #636 of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Few survive. The Hals Museum in Haarlem retains an entire room panelled in a similar manner. (Inventory #: 21034)