Ralph Dutton’s South Suite Bathroom Wallpaper Reproduction
Hinton Ampner, National Trust
Marble Wallpaper facsimile for the South Suite Bathroom
Case study
The reproduction of the Marble wallpaper for the Hinton Ampner bathroom centred on creating a faithful digital facsimile of the original 1960s design. Unlike the hand‑printed wallpapers elsewhere in the house, this scheme required a photographic and digital approach to accurately capture the distinctive marbled surface, tonal transitions, and period character of the mid‑twentieth‑century paper.
Process
Survey
It has been established that the floral Colefax “Bowood” wallpaper has been pasted onto a lining paper (painted with oil based paint); this in turn is pasted directly over the Dutton-era marble wallpaper.
Condition assesment
Irregular changes to the varnish layer, uneven yellowing affecting the final look of the scheme. Areas near the sink and WC unit had large areas of loss and extensive varnish discolouration (both yellowing and white matt effect has been noted). In places where there was an additional layer of plaster/paint applied it proofed to be more difficult to remove the top two layers of paper.
Conservation treatment
Dutton-era marble wallpaper was uncovered from two top layers of wallpaper installed by the tenant in 1980s.
Sample Tile with extensive loss in paper and print was repaired using Japanese tissue and in painted using body colours.
Digital facsimile process
High‑resolution photography was used to document the surviving wallpaper fragments. Each fragment was captured under controlled lighting to ensure accurate colour representation and to reveal the fine details of the marbling.
Multiple photographs were stitched together to rebuild the full pattern. To achieve a faithful match to the original palette, multiple colour strikes were printed.
Reproduction
The digital reconstruction process involved correcting distortions caused by surface wear ensuring that the pattern could be rebuilt with accurate proportions. Areas of loss were recreated using carefully cloned and blended sections taken from intact fragments, allowing the design to regain its visual continuity without introducing new artistic interpretation.
Reinstatement
Before facsimile was reinstatement the original wallpaper was protected with Japanese tissue. Wallpaper panels were trimmed, labelled, and exact room mock-up reflecting original layout was prepared for installation. Ensuring the bathroom regained the visual character of its 1960s decorative scheme.
Gallery
Contact
justyna@justynamedon.uk