200-year-old French decorations discovered during palace restoration
Mythologically-themed decorations uncovered during restoration works
Wall decorations thought to date back more than 200 years to the time of French rule of Malta have been discovered during restoration works of the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta.
Heritage Malta said the discovery was made during works to restore a balcony in the palace, which it said “exposed several decorations with the same style and theme” as similar decorations found in three halls recently opened to the public.
The decorations are thought to date back to between 1798-1800, when France ruled Malta under Napoleon Bonaparte.
In June, Heritage Malta announced the opening of nine restored halls within the palace, featuring decorated wooden ceilings, frescoes, and marble and flagstone floorings.
The decorations recently uncovered are similar to those in the recently opened Four Continents Room, French Room and Room of the Order of St Michael and St George, Heritage Malta said.
“The painted decorations were discovered beneath several layers of paint and were probably hidden when the halls and balcony were whitewashed in the early British period”, the heritage body said.
“Their themes are not religious... but depict scenes from classical mythology and popular allegories of the late 18th century,” it said, noting such images were in “great demand” during the French Revolution and the years that followed immediately afterwards.
Photo: Heritage Malta.
Photo: Heritage Malta.
Photo: Heritage Malta.
Heritage Malta pointed out that painted works from the French period in Malta were “very few and far between”, with only one French Republic emblem – which had been painted in local parish churches – surviving in the Mdina Cathedral Museum.
The “ample-sized covered balcony” where the works were discovered overlooks Archbishop Street and serves as a passageway between two of the halls.
Judge and historical researcher Giovanni Bonello said a Maltese artist had been paid to create decorations in the palace in 1798.
In 1888, the daughter of then governor of Malta Lintorn Simmons described mythological scenes decorating the French Room, with traces of those decorations – including vignettes of “mischievous putti” – recently discovered.
Heritage Malta said some decorations could not be uncovered, however, with the binding medium in the paint covering them “too strong and there was the risk of doing more harm than good”, adding samples had been taken to its labs to find a solution.