The Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. currently has an exhibit called Something of Splendor: Decorative Arts from the White House. It is in honor of the 50th anniversary of the White House Historical Association, which was created in 1961 to “to research and publish books and educational materials interpreting the White House and its history.” More information about the exhibit, and a slideshow featuring some of the objects included in it, can be found here. There are some impressive items in the show, but this unassuming box is my favorite. The box itself was made in China around 1811, and the wallpaper lining it is French, produced around the same time by Jacquemart et Bénard in Paris. These are the only known fragments of wallpaper to have survived the burning of the White House in 1814. Pretty impressive bits of paper aren’t they?
