Curtains for the Museum Restaurant

Curtains for the Museum Restaurant

Museum aan het Vrijthof, Maastricht,

The Netherlands.

For the museum restaurant curtains

in the style of the end of the 18th century
and of the Maastricht region were requested.
Of course they also had to be practical for a restaurant.
The paintcolours for the ceiling, the walls and the woodwork were researched.

The two mantelpieces in the room are by the Maastricht architect Matthias Soiron,  circa 1790.

The two mantelpieces in the room are

by the Maastricht architect Matthias Soiron,

 circa 1790.



Historical reference:The colour and material for the restaurant curtains were taken from this original 18th Century sample.This is a design for a bed for the Abbess of Thorn (near Maastricht) probably by a cousin of the architect Matthias Soiron, circa 1780.The 18th century designer included samples of silk for his client. The design is kept in the archives.The colours were still vibrant and very useful.

Lit.:Willy Keijser-Schuurman "Van het kastje naar de muur":het belang van archiefonderzoek voor de restauratie van historische binnenruimten, in "Monumentenzorg? Vergeet de historische binnenruimte niet", Maastricht 2001

Wall covering for the Tefaf room

Wall covering for The Tefaf Room,

Museum aan het Vrijthof, Maastricht,

The Netherlands

 A wall covering in the style

of the period and region of the panelling was needed here.
But the wall also had to be suitable for film projection!

A room with panelling from the Liege /Aachen area, circa 1750.

The paint colour for the ceiling and the chimney breast also had to be historically correct and was researched. 

Historical reference:

In Liege, Belgium, a room like the Tefaf room

still has its original gilt leather walls with a

rococo ornamentation.

Unfortunately it is impossible to buy original 18th century gilt leather on this scale.

Reproduction would be very expensive and would not have given the desired effect.
It would also not have been practical for a film projection.

Detail from wall covering in the 18th century Musee d'Asembourg, Liege , Belgium.

An alternative solution was this original 18th C.

rococo pattern from the Liege area.

In France it was embossed in linen.
The pattern is only 65 cm. wide, just like gilt leather panels.
Because it is an original 18th Century pattern it does not match!

It adds to the character!

Note: the similarity between the carving on chair,

panelling and clock

and the pattern of the wall covering.

The Bonhomme salon

The Bonhomme Salon

Museum aan het Vrijthof, Maastricht

The Netherlands

With original elements completely new rooms
in the style of interiors from circa 1800 were created.
These rooms were empty shells. They had been used as students quarters.
 Only the remainders of two fireplaces 
by the famous Maastricht architect Matthias Soiron (circa 1790) were left.
The panelling and doors were put in. (Matthias Soiron, circa 1805) 
They originate from a nearby mansion in the centre of Maastricht.

Research was done for the colour scheme, the style and material of the curtains and upholstery.
Every detail of  the choice of furniture and the decoration was based on sources of the period.

Birdcages are often seen in paintings
of early 19th century interiors.  
People kept birds in their rooms for the same reason as miners took birds into the mines,
i.e. as a warning against low oxygen levels.

Historical reference:

This style of curtains was fashionable circa 1805.

Note the knots or rosettes and the colour scheme!

Christiaan Andriessen, Drawing lesson, 1806, Amstrdam K.O.G. from:

Het Nederlandse Interieur in beeld 1600-1900, C.Willemijn Fock red, Zwolle 2001