China at Harewood

The East Bedroom, redecorated with the exquisite hand-painted Chinese wallpaper which was almost certainly supplied to Harewood by Thomas Chippendale in the 1760s, will provide a dazzling centrepiece for the ‘ China at Harewood’ exhibition.

The Chinese wallpaper, depicting scenes of Chinese life (see cover), was ‘lost’ for 150 years until 1988 when around twenty rolls were rediscovered in a carpenter’s loft in one of the outbuildings on the Harewood estate. Subsequent research has shown that the rolls form a complete scheme thought to have been commissioned by Edwin Lascelles and installed in 1769 in the first floor Chintz Bedroom as part of the decoration of the newly built house. In the mid 1990s the rolls of paper were conserved to a level that allowed them to be stored for future use. Conservation has been carried out by the foremost specialist in the country, Allyson McDermott who has said that in her opinion ‘It is one of the best examples of Chinese wallpaper in the world’. Since the Chintz Bedroom is inaccessible to visitors it has been decided to install it in the ground floor East Bedroom, re-united with the Chinese-inspired japanned furniture that it originally complemented. Other chinoiserie items are being lent (including several pieces from the Society’s collection) for the accompanying Chinoiserie exhibition.

The conservation and re-hanging has been made possible by a grant of £83,300 jointly funded by the Department of Culture, Meida and Sport and the Wolfson Foundation, with further financial support of £38,900 from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.

Harewood House is open 15 th March – 2 November 2008 daily 11 am – 4 pm.