Peony
Medium
plain weave cotton, printed
Dimensions
86 × 99.4 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Henry Chisholm
Accession Number
1937.700
Tags
female
About this artwork
Peony was probably designed for Morris & Co. by Kate Faulkner, the sister of William Morris’s early business partner Charles Faulkner. The small, almost square repeat of this pattern is more characteristic of Kate than of Morris, who favored larger patterns. She also designed embroidery, wallpaper, painted tiles and pottery, and plaster decoration for the firm. Morris had a progressive attitude toward women as co-laborers, and promoted the work of designers such as Kate, whose patterns challenge...