Few visitors to Egypt leave the country without at least one papyrus painting as a memento of their holiday. There are many different kinds of papyrus but essentially it is a fibrous and textured material made from reeds and painted in vibrant colours with scenes and hieroglyphics from ancient Egypt. Come visit us at Frames Now and we can frame your papyrus art!
Tips for framing papyrus artwork
At Frames Now we have framed hundreds of unique papyrus paintings over almost fifty years. In our experience, to make the most of your papyrus artwork, there are some points to consider.
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Papyrus is a natural material so it needs to ‘breathe’. There should be an air gap between your papyrus and the glass of the picture frame.
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The textured edging is an iconic feature of papyrus and highlighting these rough edges is a key design element in framing your artwork.
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Papyrus has often been rolled in a tube for a long time so it’s difficult to get it to stay flat. We can take care of this for you by mounting your papyrus to an acid-free backing ensuring that it looks its best in the frame.
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Some papyrus is very old and fragile and should be protected from UV rays. Frames Now have a number of special glass types that offer 99% UV protection from fading. Our acid-free backings will also protect your papyrus from discolouration.
Did you know you can build Made-to-Measure Picture Frames in three easy steps? If you’re after both printing and a picture frame, we recommend our Online Custom Framing tool.
Custom framing papyrus artwork – raised float mat
An extremely effective method of framing your papyrus to use a custom frame with a float mat. No two pieces of papyrus art are the same, however this method takes into consideration all the points above and truly highlights your artwork.
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‘Floating’ artwork means to mount it on a raised backing in front of the matboard.
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Allows the entire papyrus to be seen – all the way to the rough edges.
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Using a raised mount gives the piece some depth and drops a shadow of the rough edges onto the backing board.
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It’s common to use a black backing board to provide contrast.
Did you know that we can also cut matboards for you in many of our stores? You can shop for matboards online here.
Be inspired by our framing portfolio
Framing your papyrus artwork
At Frames Now we have two framing processes when it comes to framing papyrus artwork: using our ready-made frames or custom framing.
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Frames Now boasts Australia’s largest range of ready-made frames, from simple black and white, raw oak and dark timber through to ornate gold frames.
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Custom framing will always allow you to have control over the final product as you get to choose each element of the frame: frame moulding, matboards, glass and backing board.
If you are looking for a papyrus to frame, check out Etsy!