Some things have to be seen to be believed. Photos give some idea, and videos even more, such as the clips on Waddesdon Manor’s website, but nothing can match going there and seeing for yourself this extraordinary exhibition of elaborately folded linen napkins and table centrepieces by Catalan artist Joan Sallas. Location is all. The Rothschilds’ grand reception rooms provide the perfect setting for an exhibition celebrating the historical art of linen folding. A collaboration with the Holburne Museum in Bath where some larger pieces were displayed earlier this year, this is the first time Sallas has exhibited his work in the UK.

The idea of artistically arranging napkins began in the courts of Renaissance Italy and reached its zenith in German-speaking lands in the 17th century. “The works vary in size. Each century used different sizes of napkin: as fashions changed napkin sizes changed. With larger napkins there are more opportunities to fold,” said Sallas, showing me round the four rooms where he has placed over 100 creations. Everything has meaning, he said, going from a pair of turtledoves who ‘kiss’ symbolising lasting love, to a turtle symbolising longevity, to obelisks, lilies, a family of swans on a pool, a mating cock and hen, a pike, cauliflower, peacock, and myriad others including a colossal snake winding its way through chair legs in the Dining Room: “a big wish for ‘health’,” said Sallas.

A toy white rabbit with a red collar sits in the middle of a castle, pictured above, in the Breakfast Room. Castles were popular table decorations, symbols of power and dominion, and white symbolises purity, Sallas said. Many artists are obsessed by their subject. Sallas says as much of himself. But Sallas’ passion for this ephemeral art comes with a reverence for the history that precedes him. “What I know is when people look at this art they are happy! It’s like a medicine!”

Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury
 Until October 27