Papier-mâché

Papier-mâché (UK: /ˌpæpieɪ ˈmæʃeɪ/ PAP-ee-ay MASH-ay, US: /ˌpeɪpər məˈʃeɪ/ PAY-pər mə-SHAY, French: [papje mɑʃe] - the French term "mâché" here means "crushed and ground"[1]) is a versatile craft technique with roots in ancient China, in which waste paper is shredded and mixed with water and a binder to produce a pulp ideal for modelling or moulding, which dries to a hard surface and allows the creation of light, strong and inexpensive objects of any shape, even very complicated ones.

The word "hariko" refers to objects made from "kami" (paper) and "kiji" (wooden moulds), which are layered with papier-mâché, dried, and then painted by hand.

[9] Kashmir papier-mâché has been used to manufacture boxes (small and big), bowls, trays, étagères, useful and decorative items, models, birds and animals, vases, lights, corporate gifts and lot more.

[5] The product is protected under the Geographic Indication Act 1999 of Indian government, and was registered by the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks during the period from April 2011 to March 2012 under the title "Kashmir Paper Machie".

[12] In Ladakh, papier-mâché with paper pulp mixed with clay, cotton, flour, and glue, is used to create brightly colored masks depicting deities and spirits, essential in monastery mystery plays.

[17] Religious bas-reliefs in papier-mâché were still in vogue, but a man like Giacomo Colombo, who seems to have worked mainly in Naples, made a high-relief Saint Paschal Baylón (c.1720) measuring 168 cm.

In 1772, an English inventor, Henry Clay (apprenticed to John Baskerville in 1740 - died in 1812), patented a process for making laminated sheets of papier-mâché and treating them with linseed oil to produce waterproof panels.

Theodore Jennens patented a process in 1847 for steaming and pressing laminated sheets into various shapes, which were then used to manufacture trays, chair backs, and structural panels, usually laid over a wood or metal armature for strength.

[24] This made the material more durable and it could be moulded into objects that would otherwise be difficult to manufacture, such as the globe of Jennens and Bettridge's sewing table,[25] and that could withstand greater wear and tear than traditional papier mâché such as "teatrays, waiters, caddies and dressing cases … japanned and decorated with painted scenes and classical (Etruscan) and Chinoiserie subjects".

[26] In the 18th century, papier-mâché (that could be gilded) had begun to appear as a low-cost alternative to similarly treated plaster or carved wood in architecture, even replacing stucco in ceilings and wall decorations.

Jackson had previously worked for Robert Adam ; he established his firm in 1780, and it became one of the leading suppliers of decorative elements, particularly for ceilings, walls, and other architectural details, using plaster and papier-mâché.

[27] In the 1830s, Jacob Owen's redesign of Dublin Castle featured papier-mâché work by Charles Frederick Bielefeld (1803–1864), known for his cornices and consoles at St James’s Palace.

[28] In 1846, Bielefeld patented large, robust papier-mâché panels that could be painted for ceiling and wall decorations, or used as cabin dividers in steamboats and train carriages as well as prefabricated homes.

It was uniquely constructed using papier-mâché as a building material (a blend of waste paper, lime, and other natural ingredients) that could mimic the look of marble.

King Frederick the Great tried to entice Stobwasser away to Berlin, but in 1772/73 only a branch office (the 'Manufaktur für Lackwaren'[35] ) was founded, specialising in the manufacture of lacquered lamps.

In the late 18th century, Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, at the suggestion of one of his footmen, Johann Georg Bachmann [de], considered using papier-mâché to redecorate Ludwigslust Palace.

Bachmann became the first head of the Ludwigsluster Carton (papier-mâché) workshop, which initially produced capitals, ornemental mouldings, statues etc for the palace, its church, park, and nearby buildings such as Herrenhaus Bülow [de].

There was also Armand Marseille in Köppelsdorf, a district of Sonneberg, who from 1885 developed into one of the world's largest suppliers of bisque porcelain doll heads, some of them at least with moving eyes and a papier-mâché body.

It was crafted from wood and papier-mâché, covered in black lacquer, and decorated with scenes from mythology inspired by The Birth of Venus and The Abduction of Europa by François Boucher in oil paint.

The Louvre owns a round candy box in violet varnished cardboard lined with brown tortoiseshell with a gouache signed van Blarenberghe on its lid.

Its catalog listed over 10,000 products: from buttons and snuff boxes to cardboard casings for grenades, paper wagon wheels and items for the electrical industry, the company produced almost anything that could be made from papier-mâché.

The tin was then soaked in linseed oil and dried at low to medium heat, and when the surface was perfectly smooth, it was covered with three to eighteen layers of varnish.

The tin was then soaked in linseed oil and dried at low to medium heat, and when the surface was perfectly smooth, it was covered with three to eighteen layers of varnish.

Other objects included playing card cases , and jewellery boxes lacquered red on the inside and black on the outside, decorated with stylised flowers and birds of paradise.

[52] The Duke of Nemours (1814-1896), after the death of his elder brother in 1842, had the first floor of the Pavillon de Marsan refurbished and engaged the services of sculptor and ornamentalist Michel-Victor Cruchet (1815-1899), who made carved wooden furniture and architectural ornaments in carton-pierre.

The Museum aan de Stroom in Antwerp owns the papier-mâché head of Druon Antigoon made by Pieter Coecke van Aelst in 1534-35.

Some artists take old ideas, play with them, and give them a new twist: for instance, Michelangelo Pistoletto, a pioneer of Arte Povera, used humble materials like paper mâché and iron in his work Mappamondo (1966-1968).

German surrealist Hans Bellmer reinvented papier-mâché dolls with his polychrome wood and paper-mâché figures with natural hair and painted details, a form that blurs innocence with unsettling complexity.

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo showed an interest in Mexican folk art, including cartonería, and collected traditional crafts.

Mirka Mora used papier-mâché to create playful, colourful sculptures, sometimes reminiscent of big heads and giant carnival figures (Little Miss Muffet, 1974).