A guide to oriental bird-print wallpaper

The notion of wall coverings is not new. Indeed, some of the first wall coverings were the painted walls of the Romans and Egyptians. Later, in climes that were cooler, fabrics were used not just to keep out the chill but to beautify the walls as well. The first wallpaper was in 1400 and consisted of squares of hand-coloured block prints. Read this article to learn more about oriental bird-print wallpaper.

200BC to 1600s AD

History In the 1500s, cloth and embossed leather was the wall covering of choice of the wealthy. The Chinese/Oriental bird-print wallpaper are among the most colourful and have a surprisingly long history. The first Chinese wallpaper was created in 200 BC. After inventing paper, the Chinese began gluing paper made from rice to their walls. In the 8th century, a Chinese prisoner, held by the Turks, disclosed how to make paper and the glue, and this knowledge spread throughout Europe. In the 1600s, the Chinese created wallpaper from rectangles of rice paper. This paper they "showered" with painted birds, flowers and landscapes.

1700s to 1800s

The style of wallpaper that was popular in the start of the 1700s was the decorative, colourful wallpapers made in China. In 1785, Chinese hand-painted wallpaper was made with silk as well, and featured bird wallpaper, trees, Chinese figures and pagodas. This style of wallpaper was known in the period as "chinoiserie." Manor houses, chateaux and palaces had the Chinese wallpaper adhered to panels; the panels were then affixed to the walls. Some of the panels had gilt edges. In 1800, the tradition of panoramic Chinese wallpaper landscapes featuring hand-painted gardens, birds, flowering shrubs, and flowers in ornate pots. Thomas Chippendale ordered Chinese wallpaper when hired to redecorate a room. In 1857, Isabella, Marchioness of Hertford, used Chinese wallpaper featuring birds in the Blue or Chinese Drawing Room, and complimented it with John James Audubon's bird prints.

1900s to today

You can buy hand-painted silk Chinese bird print wallpaper that is created utilising the old methods of production. This paper features various landscapes with birds or birds among flowering blossoms and trees. Companies that carry this paper are World Silk Road, MSR Handcrafts, a-Decor, La Chibeau, Altfield and more. Some of the companies feature wallpaper that you affix directly to the walls whereas others feature panels with the wallpaper adhered to them, much in the style of the 1700s. Antique Chinese wallpaper featuring hand-painted birds are also available at companies like 1st Dibs and Thomas Livingston Antiques.