A Study of Silk Wall-Coverings in the Red Drawing Room at Castletown House

Penelope Jenkins
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2016
BA

Subject: Architecture, Interior Decoration and Textiles
Country: Ireland and Italy
Century: 18th and 19th Century

10,000 words

The eighteenth-century alterations at Castletown House have been widely researched and documented. However, the nineteenth-century alterations completed by Thomas Conolly have not received such treatment. This dissertation will aim to demonstrate the significance of one of the principal elements added during this time; the damask wallcoverings in the Red Drawing Room. An examination into their provenance will link the wall-coverings to some of the most sumptuous palatial interiors of mid-nineteenth century Italy. Thus as their technical and aesthetic qualities in context to European silk production and design. Due to its steady deterioration a study into the silk-covering’s current state of preservation will be made. Possible conservation and restoration methods will be considered.

Irish Georgian Society

Education Theses Register

A Study of Silk Wall-Coverings in the Red Drawing Room at Castletown House