Author Description

Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique is a rare panoramic wallpaper manufactured in France at the beginning of the 19th century. A product of French neoclassical culture, it draws its dramatic subject matter from the exploratory voyages of Europeans to the South Pacific. The imaginatively evoked scene created for the observer within the papered room a world of exotic cultures and environments. Four extensive essays examine the collection and reception of Pacific artifacts in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; the source material for the wallpaper's imagery; philosophical and technical aspects of its production; and the wallpaper in the context of the post-colonial Pacific region. Included also is a translation from the French of the original prospectus for the wallpaper. The complete wallpaper is reproduced in full color, with details of each of its eight panels, and supplementary illustrations.