What is this decorative frieze

[kreyszig]

Hello
I am trying to find out what this decorative frieze might be made from. OR more importantly, how old it is.
I am in the process of purchasing the property so am going off visuals alone at the moment.
The property is Victorian and *apparently* the ceilings are original.
I am sceptical about the frieze since a quick tap on a projected area gives a hollow sound and it feels very thin.
So not plaster quite obviously. However I've just found out about lincrusta which looks close, but doesn't seem to project as much as this stuff does. But I'm encouraged that the idea of faux plasterwork is quite old so perhaps these are not quite as modern as I fear.

Any ideas what this is? I am assuming the worst - (relatively) modern plastic of some description.
Any ideas on the ceiling would be useful too - any help appreciated!
View media item 62101 View media item 62102 View media item 62103edit: added shot of another room

 

[Bosswhite]

Looks like it could be PVC Frieze and Panels to me, looks effective going by the photos,

very "Aristo" and Downton Abbey looking.
http://www.atozscenery.co.uk/catalogue.php?category=Friezes&time=1370362819

 

[dcdec]

Interesting link, i didn't know such things existed.

The frieze does look like lincrusta at first glance but agree that it looks a bit heavy and probably a bit big. The ceiling just looks like decorative plasterwork.

There's a few good knowledgeable welsh lads on here that may be able to help you if you say roughly where you are they might be familiar with the area and seen properties with this decoration.

 

[kreyszig]

Interesting link, i didn't know such things existed.

The frieze does look like lincrusta at first glance but agree that it looks a bit heavy and probably a bit big. The ceiling just looks like decorative plasterwork.

There's a few good knowledgeable welsh lads on here that may be able to help you if you say roughly where you are they might be familiar with the area and seen properties with this decoration.

Thanks - I've added a third picture (green stripe in the coving) which shows the closest of the friezes to lincrusta.

The disappointing thing is that its really easy to follow the style of the frieze through the coving and in some rooms (e.g the second image with the blue ceiling) onto the ceiling. It all starts to look like some sort of vacuum formed plastic, i.e. yuck!

My head is telling me that this is probably plastic of some variety. The closest I can get to on the internet is this: http://victoriancornice.com/index.php?sec=prod&prod=156
Some of it does seem to go around corners though, hence the hope it might be something with a bit of vintage.
Any other ideas?

 

[dcdec]

I think it might be plastic or at least a reproduction of some kind. If it was plaster work i'd expect to see a few cracks, it almost looks like its in too good a condition to be original, that said it might have been well looked after perhaps proven by the condition of the rest of the house

 

[ic1927]

My guess is it's stick and rag fibrous plaster, if it is then it might be older than you think, stick and rag has been around for over 200 years, my old man earned his living putting this stuff up, customers would order out of a pattern book and it was made on a bench in a workshop in Cardiff. It has laths running through it to enable the fixer to use screw fixings as well as adhesive and it's reasonably light in weight. That ceiling of yours looks spectacular by the way.

 

[kreyszig]

thanks all. survey is next week so i'll hopefully have a better idea after that.

 

[kreyszig]

good news - most if not all is actually original Lincrusta. Just in case anyone stumbles across this and is wondering.

Some of the higher relief stuff it is a called a Cameiod, which is a cotton pulp.

The ceiling in the "yellow" room may well be fibrous plaster, we're not quite sure yet as it's the only one Lincrusta haven't confirmed and the surveyor had yet to get up close when I met with him.