The patterns William Morris created are some of the most iconic in the history of design. With their instant familiarity, these flowing botanical motifs depicting fruits, flowers, foliage and wildlife, still hold the same charm as when they were designed in the late Victorian era.
To celebrate 160 years of Morris & Co, the company is launching two new books featuring the designer’s iconic fabric and wallpaper patterns, alongside an exceptional new wallpaper panel.
The patterns in the new books include classic designs such as ‘Strawberry Thief‘, ‘Willow Bough‘, ‘Fruit‘ and ‘Trellis‘. Morris’s designs are filled with lush flora that you might find embroidered on tapestries or embellishing the pages of an illuminated manuscript. He also drew on the British landscape, observing the fields, hedgerows and gardens for plants to sketch and feature in his work.
The new wallpaper panel takes its inspiration from the 1890 Holy Grail tapestries, designed by Morris and collaborator Edward Burne-Jones for the dining room of Stanmore Hall in north London.
These tapestries illustrate scenes from the legend of King Arthur and the quest for the grail and are inhabited by Burne-Jones’ Pre-Raphaelite knights in the depths of Morris’s forest scenes. The trees and wildlife in the background of these tapestries form the basis for the new ‘Owl & Willow’ panel, a captivating landscape filled with hand-painted foliage, animals and flowers.
Over the years, Morris & Co has played with the colours in the original designs. Most recently, Ben Pentreath’s collection for Morris & Co, inspired by colourways the company developed in the Sixties, has given some familiar patterns such as ‘Willow Bough’, ‘Blackthorn’ and ‘Marigold’, a rich, saturated update.
Morris & Co’s popularity is something to celebrate. The company have shown an enduring capacity for reinvention, and these iconic patterns continue to inspire new generations of designers.
For more information about Morris & Co’s fabric and wallpaper collections, contact Cheshire Curtains and Interiors to view our full range.
