Pomona
Figure design 1882, background design 1898, made 1906
Medium
Cotton, wool, and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave
Dimensions
92.9 × 165.1 cm (36 1/2 × 65 in.)
Classification
weaving - tapestry
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
76634
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
William Morris called tapestry weaving “the noblest of the weaving arts . . .in which nothing is mechanical.” The weaver’s skill in interpreting a complex and often delicate design was essential to creating a successful work. Tapestry weaving is slow and therefore expensive, which made such textiles inaccessible to most consumers. The hanging of Pomona, the goddess of orchards and gardens, was paired with another tapestry depicting Flora, the goddess of flowering plants. The first version of th...
About the Artist
Sir Edward Burne-Jones · 1833–1898
Edward Coley Burne-Jones was born on 28 August 1833 in Birmingham, the son of a frame-maker, and lost his mother within a week of his birth. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School and the Birmingham School of Art before proceeding to Exeter College, Oxford, in 1852, intending to study theology. At Oxford he formed a lifelong friendship with William Morris, and the two young men became intoxicat...