Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché 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. There are various recipes, including those using cardboard and some mineral elements such as chalk or clay. Papier-mâché reinforced with textiles or boiled cardboard can be used for durable, sturdy objects. There is even carton-cuir and also a "laminating process", a method in which strips of paper are glued together in layers. Binding agents include glue, starch or wallpaper paste. "Carton-paille" or strawboard was already described in a book in 1881. Pasteboard is made of whole sheets of paper glued together, or layers of paper pulp pressed together. Millboard is a type of strong pasteboard that contains old rope and other coarse materials in addition to paper.
This composite material can be used in a variety of traditional and ceremonial activities, as well as in arts and crafts, for example to make many different inexpensive items such as Christmas decorations, toys or masks, or models for educational purposes, or even pieces of furniture, and is ideal for large-scale production. Carton-pierre can be used to make decorative architectural elements, sculptures and statues, or theatre or film sets; papier-mâché has also been used to make household objects, which can become valuable if artistically painted or lacquered, sometimes with inlays of mother-of-pearl, for example. Large papier-mâché pieces, such as statues or carnival floats, require a wooden frame. Making papier-mâché is also a popular pastime, especially with children.
Preparation methods
There are two methods to prepare papier-mâché. The first method makes use of paper strips glued together with adhesive, and the other uses paper pulp obtained by soaking or boiling paper to which glue is then added.With the first method, a form for support is needed on which to glue the paper strips. With the second method, it is possible to shape the pulp directly into the desired form. In both methods, reinforcements with wire, chicken wire, lightweight shapes, balloons or textiles may be needed.
The traditional method of making papier-mâché adhesive is to use a mixture of water and flour or other starch, mixed to the consistency of heavy cream. Other adhesives can be used if thinned to a similar texture, such as polyvinyl acetate based glues. Adding oil of cloves or other preservatives, such as salt, to the mixture reduces the chances of the product developing mold. Methyl cellulose is a naturally mold free adhesive used in a ratio of one part powder to 16 parts hot water and is a popular choice because it is non-toxic, but is not waterproof.
For the paper strips method, the paper is cut or torn into strips, and soaked in the paste until saturated. The saturated pieces are then placed onto the surface and allowed to dry slowly. The strips may be placed on an armature, or skeleton, often of wire mesh over a structural frame, or they can be placed on an object to create a cast. Oil or grease can be used as a release agent if needed. Once dried, the resulting material can be cut, sanded and/or painted, and waterproofed by painting with a suitable water-repelling paint. Before painting any product of papier-mâché, the glue must be fully dried, otherwise mold will form and the product will rot from the inside out.
For the pulp method, the paper is left in water at least overnight to soak, or boiled in abundant water until the paper breaks down to a pulp. The excess water is drained, an adhesive is added and the papier-mâché applied to a form or, especially for smaller or simpler objects, sculpted to shape.
History
Imperial China
The Chinese during the Han dynasty appeared to be the first to use papier-mâché around 200 CE, not long after they learned how to make paper. They employed the technique to make items such as warrior helmets, mirror cases, or ceremonial masks.Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, coffins and death masks were often made from cartonnage—layers of papyrus or linen covered with plaster.Middle and Far East
In Persia, papier-mâché has been used to manufacture small painted boxes, trays, étagères and cases. Japan and China also produced laminated paper articles using papier-mâché. In Japan and India, papier-mâché was used to add decorative elements to armor and shields.In Persia, from the 16th century onwards, papier-mâché bookbindings were preferred to leather ones because the paint held better on the paper. This continued at least into the Qajar period, particularly in Tabriz and Isfahan. The Louvre owns a leather and papier-mâché board with a painted scene, and a later papier-mâché board with lacquered or varnished birds and flowers. They also made scientific instruments like a celestial globe known as the Kugel globe in painted, gilded and varnished papier-mâché on a wooden core. Other papier-mâché items in the Louvre include a pencil box with floral decoration, a lacquered writing case and a half-moon mirror box with a typical "" decoration.
In Japan, Sendai hariko involves creating papier-mâché figurines of animals like tigers or rabbits, and Daruma dolls. Traditionally, Sendai hariko figures were gifted as toys and talismans to protect children or bring good luck. The word "hariko" refers to objects made from "kami" and "kiji", which are layered with papier-mâché, dried, and then painted by hand.
Kashmir
The papier-mâché technique was first adopted in Kashmir in the 14th century by Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, a Sufi mystic, who came to Kashmir during the late 14th century along with his followers, many of whom were craftsmen. These craftsmen used hand-made paper pulp from Iran. Kashmir papier-mâché has been used to manufacture boxes, bowls, trays, étagères, useful and decorative items, models, birds and animals, vases, lights, corporate gifts and lot more. It remains highly marketed in India and Pakistan and is a part of the luxury ornamental handicraft market. 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".The Shah Hamdan Mosque in Srinagar, one of the city's oldest mosques, is celebrated for its intricate papier-mâché work on the walls and ceilings. Similarly, the Shalimar Bagh, a garden created by Mughal Emperor Jahangir, and dubbed the "Versailles of Mughal Emperors," features a papier-mâché ceiling in its central pavilion that has lasted nearly 400 years.
Papier-mâché, a popular Kashmiri craft, originated in the 15th century when King Zain-ul-Abidin invited papier-mâché artists from Central Asia. Prior to this, vibrant patterns had been painted on wood, used in items like ceiling panels and furniture.
In recent years, there has been a decline in the number of artisans engaged in Kashmiri papier-mâché due to economic challenges and a lack of sustainable income. However, local craftsmen continue to keep the tradition alive by integrating contemporary designs while preserving traditional methods.
Ladakh
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. This technique is also used to make statues for monasteries.Europe
Italy
Originating in Asia, papier-mâché reached Europe in the 15th century, where it was first used for bas-reliefs and nativity figures. By incorporating some mineral elements, artisans were able to make copies of traditional statues for devotional use, which gained popularity after the Counter-Reformation. New devotional practices rested on faithful copies of particularly venerated images reproduced in series in stucco or in papier-mâché, such as Lorenzo Ghiberti's Madonnas, or Donatello's bas-relief of the Virgin and Child, known as the Madonna of Verona. Jacopo Sansovino also used papier-mâché, for example in his bas-relief Virgin and Child. Another Virgin and Child is attributed to Sansovino. The Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo has a Saint Jerome by Pompeo Cesura.Baroque culture in Italy embraced papier-mâché, fostering devotion among the faithful through vivid religious imagery. In Bologna, in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, with sculptors such as Mazza, his pupil Angelo Piò and, papier-mâché flourished. In the nineteenth century, Emilia-Romagna once again took over with the famous workshops in Faenza of and his sons and and the followers of and Graziani, and the workshop of Gaetano Vitené and his successors, and the latest specialists of cartapesta: Enrico dal Monte and his son Gaetano dal Monte.
Early examples of Italian cartapasta seem to include mostly bas-reliefs. For example, there are many copies in cartapasta of Benedetto da Maiano's Madonna 'del Latte, the earliest ones attributed to his workshop, but some others dating from the early 17th century. Some were made in Tuscany, such as a polychrome papier-mâché of The Deposition of Christ with a papier-mâché Christ on a wooden cross. Another papier-mâché bas-relief representing The Beheading of Saint Paul was inspired by Alessandro Algardi, who worked almost exclusively in Rome.
The Louvre owns two very different pieces dating from the very end of the 17th century: a celestial globe and an earth globe
In the 18th century, cartapesta also developed in Lecce, where it remains a speciality. The Castle of Charles V houses the Museo della Cartapesta. 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 measuring 168 cm.
The places of production diversified: we know of a cartapesta 'Jesus Christ Dead in the Tomb' made in Sicily. In Siena, cartapesta products also diversified, from painted and gilded papier-mâché cherubs to boxes, trays, shelves, wall lamps and more.
In the 19th century, new objects appeared, such as table centrepieces representing a pyramid of papier-mâché and glass fruits under a glass cloche, or views of Italy, probably made for tourists, such as one of "il Colosseo ed i Fori Imperiali". Pope Pius VII was crowned on 21 March 1800, in Venice, wearing a papier-mâché papal tiara. Founded in 1802 by Giovanni Battista Paravia, Paravia Publishing dominated educational materials in Italian schools by the late 19th century, offering papier-mâché globes, anatomical models, and flower models along with many other things. Didactic papier-mâché models of flowers were also made by C. Luppi in Modena. Papier-mâché came to be used for carnival masks and floats, in Viareggio for example.