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Hanging: acanthus portière

Ref: 1744
  • Designer / Maker

    Designed by J. H. Dearle (1859-1932)

    Retailed by Morris & Co. (1875-1940)

    Probably manufactured under the supervision of May Morris (1862-1938)

  • Detail

    Embroidered silk, probably on ‘Manchester cloth’

    238 x 147 cm

    English (London), 1890s

  • Provenance

    The Hon. Mrs Frank Whitbread (1875-1959), 12, Hans Place, SW; […]; private collection, 2012-present

  • Label

    Label to reverse (see below) recording provenance

  • Collection

    Private collection

  • Notes

    A closely related hanging, worked by Mary Barr Smith (1863-1941) during the 1890s, is in the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia (961A1); see Christopher Menz, William Morris, 2002, no. 35.

    For four closely related designs in pencil and wash in the collection of the Huntington Library, Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens (2000.5.446); see Anna Mason, ed., William Morris, 2021, p. 290, XII.26

    See also Owl (V&A, T.369A-1982) for another wall hanging making comparable use of meandering acanthus leaves.

    There is some restoration to the silk-embroidered background.