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Lot Essay
William Morris (1834-1896) was the leading figure of the Arts and Crafts movement in the second half of the Nineteenth Century. Inspired by John Ruskin's social criticism and writings on medieval art, Morris and his fellow artists disavowed the low-quality goods produced by the factories of the Industrial Revolution and the production methods that alienated workers from the creative process. They instead set out to return to the traditional methods of craftsmanship in which the designer was the craftsman. In 1861 Morris created a design firm dedicated to ecclesiastical commissions but soon began designing for domestic interiors as well. In the mid-1870s Morris became interested in carpets, and he began to collect antique Persian rugs. Disillusioned with the quality of contemporary carpet production in the East, he decided to produce his own.
In 1878, he established his own carpet-weaving workshop, which would use traditional methods and materials, in the coach house of Kelmscott House, his home in Hammersmith. The production was exacting, time-consuming work, and thus large rugs were made for special commissions rather than as stock for his shop. Two years later, Morris displayed these hand-knotted rugs and stated in a brochure that they constituted "an attempt to make England independent of the East for the supply of hand-made carpets which may claim to be considered works of art" (Malcolm Haslam, Arts & Crafts Carpets, 1991, p. 58). In 1881, the workshop moved to a larger space in Merton Abbey, where this carpet was woven. John Henry Dearle, a designer who joined Morris & Co. in 1878, created thirty original designs for woven and printed textiles, including this carpet. Like Morris, Dearle was influenced by the Eastern aesthetic, depicting stylized elements in a flat, two-dimensional manner. (Linda Parry, William Morris Textiles, 1983, p. 70).
In 1878, he established his own carpet-weaving workshop, which would use traditional methods and materials, in the coach house of Kelmscott House, his home in Hammersmith. The production was exacting, time-consuming work, and thus large rugs were made for special commissions rather than as stock for his shop. Two years later, Morris displayed these hand-knotted rugs and stated in a brochure that they constituted "an attempt to make England independent of the East for the supply of hand-made carpets which may claim to be considered works of art" (Malcolm Haslam, Arts & Crafts Carpets, 1991, p. 58). In 1881, the workshop moved to a larger space in Merton Abbey, where this carpet was woven. John Henry Dearle, a designer who joined Morris & Co. in 1878, created thirty original designs for woven and printed textiles, including this carpet. Like Morris, Dearle was influenced by the Eastern aesthetic, depicting stylized elements in a flat, two-dimensional manner. (Linda Parry, William Morris Textiles, 1983, p. 70).