Boiserie

Mentmore Towers in England. The boiseries, or elaborately carved wood panels, are from the Hôtel de Villars in Paris and are inset with paintings and Genoese velvet

Boiserie (often used in the plural boiseries) is the term to used to define ornate and intricately carved panelling. Early examples of boiseries were unpainted, but later they were often painted or gilded. Boiseries were popular in 17th and 18th century French interior design. The Palace of Versailles has many examples. The panels were often not confined just to the walls of a room but were also used to decorate doors, frames, cupboards and shelves. Very often pictures would be set into the boiseries, the carving framing the picture rather like a conventional frame.

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