English Devotional Oil on Victorian Papier-Mâché Panel, Attributed to George Morris, 1942
English Devotional Oil on Victorian Papier-Mâché Panel, Attributed to George Morris, 1942
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A small Romantic devotional scene of a young woman kneeling in prayer before a Gothic chapel window, painted directly onto the original japanned black lacquer ground of a salvaged piece of mid-Victorian English papier-mâché. The reverse retains the panel's original Victorian decoration: a hand-painted floral spray of a pale yellow rose with green foliage and vermilion fuchsia, surrounded by trailing gilt fern scrollwork picked out with tiny enamelled forget-me-nots. The figural composition was attributed to George Morris and dated 1942 by the seller from whom this piece was acquired, though no signature is visible on the panel itself. Two layers of English material history in a single small object: a fragment of Birmingham or Wolverhampton decorative industry from the 1850s or 1860s, repurposed and overpainted as a private devotional work.
The piece is in good antique condition with honest age-appropriate wear and condition issues that should be disclosed clearly. The papier-mâché substrate is exposed at all four corners where the original japanning and the figural overpaint have worn through; the reddish-brown fibrous papier-mâché is visible at each corner loss. Fine even craquelure runs across the entire japanned ground on both faces, consistent with aged Victorian shellac-and-lampblack lacquer. The figural composition on the front shows minor surface scratches and small abrasions to the black ground, particularly on the right side, with one small area of paint loss or scuff lower right of the figure. The figure itself and the Gothic window are stable and well-preserved. The reverse retains the original floral painting and gilt scrollwork without significant losses to the decoration itself. The panel is rigid and structurally sound. No frame.
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