There is one other image of this object. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.

 

See more objects with the tag interior, domestic, home, ewers, klismos, frame, acanthus, cameos.

See more objects with the color silver darkslategrey darkgrey grey darkolivegreen or see all the colors for this object.

Object Timeline

-0001

1931

  • We acquired this object.

2014

2025

  • You found it!

Dado (France)

This is a Dado. It is dated 1780–85 and we acquired it in 1931. Its medium is block-printed on handmade paper. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.

This large panel is a dado paper which would decorate the wall space below the chair rail and would have been installed with a coordinating sidewall paper above. Given the strong neoclassical format and large scale of this design it would probably have been paired with non-repeating arabesque panels of a grand scale. The main design elements are printed in grisaille, with medallions simulating cameos. Manufacturers printed patterns in grisaille or shades of gray to impart a more classical or sculptural quality to a design. This paper shows one repeat of the design and is simulating an inset panel.

This object was donated by Eleanor Garnier Hewitt and Sarah Cooper Hewitt. It is credited Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt.

  • Sidewall (France)
  • block printed on handmade paper.
  • Gift of Mrs. Charles S. Fairchild.
  • 1900-5-3
  •
  • Sidewall (France)
  • block printed, hand painted, gilded on handmade paper.
  • Museum purchase from General Acquisitions Endowment Fund.
  • 1985-26-1
  •

Our curators have highlighted 6 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Sidewall, Frames
  • screen printed on paper.
  • Gift of Graham & Brown Inc..
  • 2005-31-1
  •
  • Klismos Chair
  • walnut, leather.
  • Gift of Saridis S.A. Furniture Manufacturers.
  • 1971-18-1

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 51.4 x 148 cm (20 1/4 x 58 1/4 in.)

Cite this object as

Dado (France); block-printed on handmade paper; H x W x D: 51.4 x 148 cm (20 1/4 x 58 1/4 in.); Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt; 1931-45-58

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Hewitt Sisters Collect.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18319357/ |title=Dado (France) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=6 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>