Leather Hangings
Conspicuous among the furnishings of the richer homes in Tudor times were the so-called 'Spanish leather' hangings. Although originating in Spain, perhaps as early in the eleventh century, this type of decorative leather, varying in detail, was eventually made in all the principal European countries. England apparently excelled in the making of gilded, embossed and painted panels for mural decorations, (Fourgeroux de Bondaroy in a report to the Academy of France, Descriptions des Arts et Metiers, 1762) but there is no record or any organized craft of leather gilders. It therefore appears probable that only a handful of craftsmen were concerned with this somewhat exotic product; and those not much before the early years of the seventeenth century. Earlier hangings must therefore have been imported, probably chiefly from France and the Low Countries. Leather hangings were not purely decorative: they were esteemed because they were not affected by damp or insects, could be cleaned by sponging and retained their brilliance indefinitely. An article in the Illustrated London News for 11 October, 1851, states: 'About 1531 or 1532, Henry VIII built a manor-house near Eastham Church in Essex, with a high square tower, that during her sort of year or probation, Anne Boleyn might enjoy the prospect of the Royal Park at Greenwich. This tower had hangings of the most gorgeous gold leather, which remaining until fifty years since, when the house coming into the hands of a proprietor with no especial love for the memory of the Bluff Harry, nor the sad hauntings of the fate of Anne Boleyn, nor the old art and workmanship of leather decoration, but a clear perception that in so many yards of gilt leather there must be some weight of real gold, had the tapestries [sic] torn down, sent to the goldsmith's furnace, ad some £60 gathered from the ashes.' Whilst real gold-leaf was undoubtedly used on occasion, usually the effect was produced by covering the leather with silver or tin-foil and then applying successive layers of yellow varnish. The decline of leather hangings seems to have resulted in part from changing fashions, and in part form the introduction of the cheaper embossed paper embossed paper wall-coverings, to the earliest of which the leather gilders turned their hands.
I cannot verify the Illustrated London News story, there are no local archives, and their online archives are behind a paywall. The Connoisseur Guide was a periodical before it was collected into book form, the copyright years are 1956, 1957, 1958, with "First published as one complete volume 1968"
There is however, very little in the way of surviving exemplars, later in the same section (p. 240) is a reference to another one that serves as the inspiration
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| Plate 84(a) from The Connoisseur's Complete Period Guides (Tudor Section) - "The only known example of a leather 'carpet', probably a bed cover, forming part of the seventeenth-century furnishings of the Queen's Room, Ham House (discarded in the eighteenth century). Of shaved hide, silvered, embossed and painted, the background in opaque light grey, flowers and foliage in transparent glazes through which the silver still gleams. This particular example is probably of the mid-seventeenth century, Dutch, but leather carpets are mentioned as early as 1423. Ham House, Richmond, Surrey" |
... Leather 'carpets', that is to say overs for furniture such as beds and tables, are mentioned as early as 1423 in an inventory of the wardrobe of Henry VI, being made of Spanish leather. But no example was known to have survived until one was found in the attics of Ham House, Richmond, dating from the Restoration period. ... The technique employed for ornamentation is interesting and unusual. Natural (undyed) sheepskin was placed over patterns cut in relief on wooden blocks, and subjected to a rubbing, probably with a wood or bone 'slicker'. This bruised the surface of the leather where there was contact with the raised design below, leaving charming patterns in brown on the biscuit-coloured leather. Gilt leather piping and tassels enhanced the effect.
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| from the Marble Dining Room, Ham House, Surrey |
Having found an examplar, I went looking to see if it had survived into the modern day. It had. Ham House is now part of the National Trust, and there are color pictures, though unfortunately, not as detailed as I like. The ornamentation does say "Jacobean" to me, more than Tudor/Elizabethan. According to this link, leather hangings were used in dining rooms because they did not retain smells.
I now had a search term, "Leather Hangings" dropped into assorted search engines got me a link to the Cooper Hewett museum, and a leather wallcovering from circa 1750, also Dutch. Looking for other items classified the same way, the Cooper Hewett has 16 examples of "leather, stamped, painted, silvered" dated from 1680 through 1750.
Additional links:
Description of repairing/replacing A Leather Wall Covering at Cheverny, a seventeenth century french chateau
From the V&A, a leather panel from between 1500 and 1600 (4" by about 6") the museum has more examples, but this is one of the oldest
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| From the Cooper Hewett Museum |
