Nov. 27, 2024
Mat boards have a long history in the world of art & picture framing. Mat boards can also be known as mountboards, window mats, frame mats, photo borders, photo mats or even a passepartout.
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In recent decades, matboards have become increasingly popular in picture frames, as a way to both protect and also enhance artwork and photos inside the frame.
But do you know how the concept of mat boards first started? Let's take a look into a brief history of matboard -
First seen as a concept in Europe before the 's, it is speculated that the earliest form of the concept for "a matboard" was first used in a specific style of picture frame called a "spandrel" frame. A spandrel is internal wood paneling, incorporated into a picture frame to surround, enclose or encase a painting, such as a portrait.
Here is an example of an Italian Renaissance-style spandrel frame, below:
These spandrel style frames were usually decorated and gilded with gold leaf along with the frame. The artworks display were generally oil painting portraits, painted by the 'old masters'. These artworks and frames were usually commissioned by the Catholic Church.
It wasn&#;t until the &#;s when paper manufacturing was developed, that paper-based artwork became more accessible, affordable and popular with artists.
This type of art being produced were manuscripts and parchments, which also introduced books and bookbinding. Along with this also can the first matboards which were created and used in the form of folios. The first form of mat board 'folios' were used similar to book covers and designed to support, protect, store and transport individual, thin vellum parchments (sheep skin) and paper book pages (manuscripts) and artworks.
At some time during this era, the concept of cutting a viewing window into the cardboard folio was used, which created the more familiar concept of a window mat or "matboard", that we commonly see today.
It wasn&#;t until glass was developed in the &#;s that paper could be displayed and protected in a conventional picture frame (under glass), along with a decorative mat board, designed to both support and enhance works of art on paper.
By the &#;s the familiar format of a mat board with a window and a supportive back mount was becoming a more common method to be able to store and display paper-based artworks. Up until this time, matboard was produced using traditional artisan methods by hand, which was both time consuming and expensive.
In , a company called &#;Charles T Bainbridge & Sons&#; in the USA, which specialised in manufacturing stationery and art boards, patented the first commercially produced decorative mat board material for pictures, using wood pulp. This is when the concept of matting and framing, as we know it finally arrived.
In the late &#;s, the commercially production of mat board evolved into an alternate method of producing a cotton fibre based matboard, also referred to as "Rag" mat board. This type of mat board is made using cotton pulp instead of wood pulp and was first done by a company called Crescent Cardboard in the USA.
During the mid 's, matboards with decorative coloured surface papers were becoming more commonly available. However, the paper-based mat boards manufactured at this time were not acid-free, nor conservation standard, and were vulnerable to degrading rapidly.
It wasn't until the early 's, that the first conservation-grade mat boards were commercially produced with acid-free pulp and different coloured paper surfaces.
In order to achieve a conservation standard, the wood pulp has to go through a special manufacturing process to neutralize the harmful impurities in the pulp. These matboards would also include an extra additive mixed into the pulp called calcium carbonate (which is chalk), which would help to chemically capture and neutralize any harmful acidic byproducts in the paper. This processing is called "Buffering".
As a result of this improvement in quality, the term "acid-free" gradually became a popular distinction for high quality matboard and papers.
The expanded commercial use of these improved, high-quality manufacturing processes changed the dynamics of mat board availability, affordability and use.
As a result, mat boards gradually became a more common and affordable decorative enhancement for artworks and photos, instead of just the basic protection of art being displayed in a picture frame by itself.
There are several different well-known companies and brands who specialize in manufacturing mat boards for the picture framing industry, including the following:
Most matboard manufacturers will offer a range of boards to cater for a variety of specifications and requirements, including conservation grade, museum grade and also acid-free.
If you would like to understand more about the purpose of mat board and how they're produced, please read our blog -
Profile Australia proudly only offers premium quality frame mats and matboards which are certified to be acid-free and suitable for decorative and long-term display of photos and artworks.
We also only use window mat boards which are eco-sustainable and made from environmentally sourced wood-pulp. Mat boards are also a recyclable product, because they are a high-quality dense cardboard. Profile has also taken steps recycle the matboard waste create in our production process.
Explore the complete range of pre-cut matboards from Profile Australia. Whether you're looking for custom matboards, photo mat board kits, collage mat boards, double mat boards or even specialty oval mat boards - we have a solution.
All proudly made in Australia with acid-free, eco-sustainable papers and a lifetime guarantee!
We also offer cut to size foamboards and a complete range of picture framing accessories including acid-free hinging tape.
Also check out our range of Picture & Photo Frames so you can choose your own frames which you can mix and match to suit. Profile offers a full range of picture framing solutions in all types of shapes, styles and sizes.
All Profile pre-cut matboards and picture frames are proudly made in Australia with eco-sustainable materials and a lifetime guarantee!
Want to read more? You may also like:
This article was written by Jared Davis - www.jareddavis.com.au
Jared Davis is one of only a few qualified Master Certified Picture Framers in Australia with over 30 years of custom framing experience.
Jared is published author, writer and an industry-recognised educator who teaches classes and workshops to professional picture framers all around the world.
Nowadays, bath mats are considered an essential part of any bathroom. They&#;re kind of like towels &#; everyone needs them, everyone has them.
But it hasn&#;t always been the case.
Way before all the bamboo towels or organic towels, once upon a time, we just didn&#;t use them.
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Humanity had to evolve for a long time to grow to appreciate both the functional as well as utilitarian value of a bath mat.
Interestingly, the invention of a bath mat as we know it today is not attributed to any particular era or person. The most likely hypothesis is that they simply derived from their older siblings &#; floor mats and rugs.
It was a natural evolution, apparently.
At first, we didn&#;t even recognise a distinction between a rug and a mat. And it&#;s not particularly surprising, given that the first known account of some sort of a floor covering goes all the way back to the Palaeolithic period. That&#;s 25,000 years ago.
Of course, it wasn&#;t exactly fancy at the time; they were probably just some pieces of felt-like material scattered on the floor.
Over time, we&#;d learned and grown, finding new techniques and methods. That&#;s how woven mats and rugs came about, with various types of grass being the go-to material.
These kinds of rugs or floor mats were actually found in Ancient Mesopotamian settlements, as it turned out during excavation works conducted in that area.
Unfortunately, not many of these were preserved since the materials were mostly organic back then &#; and not particularly durable.
When something requires skill, often a component of artistic value is quick to follow.
This is probably how (and why) the designs and patterns started to get a bit more elaborate. And it&#;s a trend visible in many different cultures across the world.
One of the best-known and distinctive inventions of that particular culture is the tatami mat.
It&#;s actually hard (or impossible) to tell who invented them, with so many different influences. Whether they drew inspiration from Korea or China &#; it doesn&#;t matter. They&#;ve made it their own.
Initially, this mat was nothing like the natural bath mat we know today. Those were luxury items meant for the noble, mostly for sleeping and sitting. The word tatami most likely derives from the verb &#;to pile&#; or &#;to fold&#;.
Known for their artisanal craftsmanship and attention to detail, the Japanese used an intricate technique to weave these floor mats, combining the core of soft rush grass and a wrap of hemp or cotton.
Time passed, and tatami mats quickly became a staple in households in Japan &#; in many different forms, with some rooms covered in them from A to Z. At one point, they were even used as bedrolls.
Of course, the basic function was not enough anymore &#; new techniques and more ornamental takes kept on emerging. Eventually, the craftsmen started introducing bamboo pieces, making them sturdier and more durable.
A tatami mat is a perfect example of how the world of utilitarian household items gets intertwined and repurposed to the point where it&#;s impossible to tell when one object became something else. This evolution is most likely what happened with bath mats as well.
Most cultures had their own version of a mat. No wonder. They&#;re very useful &#; no doubt about that.
In these early stages, whether we call it a rug, a carpet or a mat&#; It doesn&#;t really matter &#; we&#;re talking about the same thing.
China, Mongolia, India, Egypt&#; All of these cultures have left a mark and had their own unique take on a mat, with their own techniques and methods, adjusted to the specific needs of their climate, environment &#; and available materials.
Carpets, for example, are believed to have originated in the Middle East, but the exact location remains unknown. Back then, they were made with whatever was available.
It was all about functionality and purpose. Grass, reeds, and sometimes animal skin. Anything to keep the cold away. Hand-knitted flat rugs are most likely the invention of travelling tribes.
The oldest known example is the Pazyryk carpet (also known as pile carpet) from 500 BC, discovered in in the Altai Mountains of Kazakhstan. It&#;s actually a real work of art with intricate ribbon patterns and ornamental finish &#; a true testament to the skill and advanced technology of&#;
Well, that remains a mystery to this day. Talented craftsmen, that&#;s for sure.
Fun fact &#; it was completely frozen when they found it, but still all the colours were very sharp and the scene depicted on the rug was also well-preserved.
We&#;re not quite in the s yet; we have to make a quick stop first in 18th-century England. That&#;s when something resembling a modern-day floor mat was actually invented.
They were made through the complex process of rug hooking with the use of discarded yarn pieces.
Rug hooking had such a big influence that even contemporary woven mats and rugs still look like they were made with this very method.
It doesn&#;t mean England was new to weaving and rug making &#; even back then. In fact, in the 16th century, a small group of Persian weavers first came to its shores and that&#;s how the whole industry started. Not too long after that, England became a European centre of rug making.
The 20th century marked another invention &#; synthetic materials. They were much cheaper, and quickly gained a lot of attention and popularity.
With wool slowly out of the picture, these once luxury items available to a chosen few, have suddenly become quite common and over time &#; essential in every household.
But history has come full circle. With new methods and cutting-edge technologies, natural materials are once again taking reign and their rightful place. The production is no longer as expensive, and plenty of manufacturers are trying to improve the process and make it more sustainable.
This is where we are today &#; all the knowledge we&#;ve gathered throughout the ages gave us the chance to make this simple invention even better.
The combination of weaving patterns, materials and functionality, as well as the needs of the moment change the form and purpose of mats, rugs and carpets.
Finally, bathrooms got their own version as well &#; a bath mat. A small piece of absorbent cloth to keep our feet dry and prevent accidents. At first, we used thick cloths like cotton terry or microfibre.
It may seem like this simple design could not be improved any further, but here it is &#; a stone bath mat.
It dries on its own in 60 seconds and requires little to no maintenance. It&#;s light, stylish, durable and there's no need to waste water and energy by putting it in for a machine wash. Checks all the boxes.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website Wholesale Car Mat Material Supplier.
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