William Morris and Morris and Co. Artichokes - Tiles from Textiles
William Morris Textile Designs De Morgan Arts & Crafts Victorian Medieval
William Morris Textile Designs De Morgan Arts & Crafts Victorian Medieval
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Artichoke: That vegetable of which one has more at the finish than at the start of dinner. ~Lord Chesterfield
I have two Artichoke textile versions here (and another by De Morgan that Jane Morris had installed in the Green Room fireplae at Kelmscott manor) -- the first textile designed by Morris in 1877 was sold through Morris & Co, is a textile design. The later, more stylized, artichoke textile, designed twenty years later by John Henry Dearle and also through Morris & Co. as a wall covering, shows the clear direction that the decorative arts had taken by the end of the 19th centry.
The artichoke itself has an interesting history. Artichokes weren't grown in England. It's a Mediterranean flower. In fact, Catherine de Medici is credited with bringing artichokes to France in the 16th century when she arrived from Florence at the age of fourteen to marry the future Henry II. She apparently ate a good many of them, scandalizing the court because artichokes had a reputation for making the diner more lusty. Henry VIII was also said to have been overly fond of artichokes.
The Morris Artichoke tile is taken from a larger embroidery designed by William Morris and worked on linen in 1877. It was subsequently available from Morris & Co.
Border tiles are seamless on the horizontal.
Designer: William Morris
Size: 4.25 inch tiles, 6 x 6 inch inch tiles
4.25 inch square tiles: $66
6 inch square tiles: $68
Four 4.25 tiles fit together in a set to form a complete artichoke. Sets of four can also be used as a bosrder or to form a large backsplash.
Designer: William Morris
Size: 8.5 inches x 8.5 inches on four 4.25 inch tiles
Shown are four artichoke backsplash sets (16 tiles) arranged to form a larger backsplash.
Four 4.25 inch square tiles: $325 first set, $300 each additional set
William Morris preferred tapestries and wallhangings, but their cost put them out of reach of most people. Morris & Co. began to produce wallpapers. Artichoke wallpaper was produced around the same time, and while it shows some meandering foliage design that Morris loved, it has millefleur details that are characteristic of John Henry Dearle and, like most designs for wallpaper produced by Morris & Co. is registered under his name.
The accent tile is only seamless on the vertical. For the backsplash, two tiles, one with the pattern reversed, are placed side-by-side to make them appear seamless on the horizontal.
Designer: Attributed to John Henry Dearle
Size: 4.25 inch tiles, 6 x 6 inch, 8 inch tiles
4.25 inch square tiles: $66
6 inch square tiles: $68
8 inch square tiles: $86
Fireplace tiles are seamless on the vertical.
Designer: Attributed to John Henry Dearle
Size: 4.25 inch tiles, 6 x 6 inch, 8 inch tiles
4.25 inch square tiles: $66
6 inch square tiles: $66
8 inch square tiles: $88
