Baan veloutébehang c. 1700 - 1750

This anonymous wallpaper fragment, 'Baan veloutébehang', in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, offers a fascinating glimpse into the domestic aesthetics of its time. Produced in the Netherlands, its date is unknown, but the image is filled with visual codes. Hunting scenes and floral motifs were highly fashionable. The wallpaper can tell us about the rising merchant classes in the Netherlands, and how they used decoration in their homes to display their wealth and taste. But the survival of this fragment also tells an institutional story. The Rijksmuseum's decision to preserve and display this piece elevates it from mere domestic decoration to a cultural artifact worthy of study. To understand the wallpaper fully, we'd need to consult a range of sources, from trade records of wallpaper production to household inventories and pattern books. These historical documents would help us to understand the wallpaper's original context, its social meaning, and its place within the broader history of Dutch art and culture.