TREASURE DESCRIPTION: Tapestry depicting birds, animals and flowers within a dense cover of trailing acanthus leaves with an embroidered inscription. Made of woven wool and silk on a cotton warp, designed by William Morris, Philip Webb and John Henry Dearle and woven at Merton Abbey Workshop in 1887 by Morris & Co.
Founded on the pre-Raphaelite principle of authenticity, William Morris embraced an ideal that viewed modern art as mere mass production. Medieval art retained more of the artist’s original personality in the work, lending it a uniqueness lost in mass production. All William Morris tapestries should be seen in this light and are a testament to craftsmanship, technique and discipline.
William Morris’ use of birds and animals in his early tapestries is a forbear to his later carpet patterns. This design was one of his most successful compositions. With its elaborately filigreed patterning and detail, the tapestry is a fine example of Morris’ revival of the craftsman-ly richness and precision of medieval art. It was originally designed for his patron Aleco Ionides and completed in 1887.
These treasures were made as part of The Building Exploratory, Wandle Treasures project. This project was part of the wider Living Wandle Landscape Partnership Scheme, funded by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund.
