Wallpaper border with Egyptian motifs
England
1806
Colour print from woodblocks and flock
Museum no. E.2259-1966

This border was made for the Drawing Room at Crawley House, Bedfordshire. The Egyptian style was popular at this date, though it did not meet with universal approval. Designer Thomas Hope (1769-1831) wrote in his 'Household Furniture and Interior Decoration' (London, 1807) that 'Modern imitations of those wonders of antiquity, composed of lath and plaster, of callico and paper, offer no one attribute of solidity and grandeur to compensate for the want of elegance and grace, and can only excite ridicule and contempt.'