The Building Exploratory
HERITAGE THEME: ARTS & CRAFTS
‘THE FOREST’ TAPESTRY, 1887, Victoria & Albert Museum
The Forest (Tapestry designed 1887 by Morris & Co., on display at the V&A Museum) Image Courtesy of: collections.vam.ac.uk
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.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE William Morris’ use of birds and animals in his vival of the craftsman-ly richness and precision of early tapestries is a forbear to his later carpet pat- medieval art. terns. This design was one of his most successful compositions. It was originally designed for his patron Aleco Io- nides and completed in 1887. With its elaborately filigreed patterning and de- tail, the tapestry is a fine example of Morris’ re-
VOLUNTEER REFLECTIONS 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. ‘THE FOREST’ TAPESTRY, 1887, Victoria & Albert Museum
SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE
The tapestry was designed by William Morris, Philip Webb and John Henry Dearle.
It was woven by Morris & Co.’s three most senior weavers, ‘under the superintendence of William Morris’ according to the 1890 Art & Crafts Exhibi- tion catalogue.
Bought by Aleco Ionides for 1 Holland Park, in London, it hung in the study together with an acanthus leaf panel.
The V&A Museum purchased it from the heirs in 1926.
It has been cleaned by De Witt in Mechelen, Bel- gium, and will be displayed in November 2015.
The Forest (detail) Image Courtesy of: artfund.org
MATERIALS USED Cotton, wool and silk. 122 x 460cm
The flowers in the foreground and verdure behind were designed by Morris, while Webb added the five original animal studies and Dearle supplied the floral details for this work.
The Forest (detail) Image Courtesy of: artfund.org
References: The Forest/Morris, William/V&A Search the collections Vam.ac.uk: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O89213/the-forest-tapestry-morris-william/