The commercial production of papier mâché objects began in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. They were constructed using a patented process of building up layers of paper that were pasted onto a wooden or metal base, each layer being polished and smoothed to give an even surface. The object would have been painted with black lacquer and hand decorated. This face screen, one of a pair, was probably made to commemorate the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.