Rare French 19th c. "Le Souper a la Maison d'Or",Wallpaper Screen, consisting of 4 wood panels wrapped with the Thomas Couture (French, 1815-1879) woodblock wallpaper also known as "The Supper after the Masked Ball" printed and manufactured by Jules Desfosse (French, 1816-1889) c. 1855. Overall size (4 panels): 66'' x 86'' (168 x 218 cm). Note: The Desfosse Wallpaper company was known for large scale scenic wallpaper. In 1855 they commissioned Thomas Couture, then the leading artist in Paris, to create a large scale painting to be offered as a wallpaper. The resulting four panel wallpaper was introduced in their booth at the 1855 Paris Exposition. The wallpaper was printed on the largest sheet of paper available at that time, and utilized more wood blocks than had been previously used before on a scenic wallpaper. A framed version of this wallpaper recently sold at TEFAF Maastricht, and other examples of the wallpaper panels are in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The Art Institute Chicago, The Musee Arts Decoratifs Paris, Musee d’ l’Hotel de Vermandois Senlis France, and two of the four panels at The V&A London. The preliminary study of the original painting by Thomas Couture is at The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, and the final painting from which the wallpaper was produced is at The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. The wallpaper screen was authenticated by The Conservation Center in Philadelphia. The screen can be restored to pristine condition, with a recommended restoration plan, which is included with the purchase.

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