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Source Description

Morris envisioned textiles such as <em>Violet and Columbine</em> hanging in heavy folds, the rich colors and flowing pattern suggesting a garden wall. He strongly preferred experimenting with natural dyes instead of using the garish chemical ones that had become standard in industrialized England. Even though organic dyes were expensive and scarce, and required dyers to revive old methods, they were less likely to fade in the light or during washing, and they were capable of producing more subtle tonal effects. A sense of the process of hand-weaving can be understood by looking at the back of this textile. The warp (up and down) threads are light blue and green—visible at the bottom. The textile was woven in long lengths that could be cut at these passages of loose thread. The weft (side to side) threads in several colors, including red, pink, yellow, and blue, are more visible from the back than the front, where they disappear into the pattern.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
130607
label
Violet and Columbine
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
130607
contentType
object
title
Violet and Columbine
description
Morris envisioned textiles such as <em>Violet and Columbine</em> hanging in heavy folds, the rich colors and flowing pattern suggesting a garden wall. He strongly preferred experimenting with natural dyes instead of using the garish chemical ones that had become standard in industrialized England. Even though organic dyes were expensive and scarce, and required dyers to revive old methods, they were less likely to fade in the light or during washing, and they were capable of producing more subtle tonal effects. A sense of the process of hand-weaving can be understood by looking at the back of this textile. The warp (up and down) threads are light blue and green—visible at the bottom. The textile was woven in long lengths that could be cut at these passages of loose thread. The weft (side to side) threads in several colors, including red, pink, yellow, and blue, are more visible from the back than the front, where they disappear into the pattern.
date
1883
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60780892
creators
24604
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 122.6 x 180.7 cm (48 1/4 x 71 1/8 in.)
cul
England, Surrey, Merton Abbey
accession
1953.329
Source extras
tec
jacquard loom woven weft-faced twill, double cloth; wool and mohair
tombstone
Violet and Columbine, 1883. William Morris (British, 1834–1896). Jacquard loom woven weft-faced twill, double cloth; wool and mohair; overall: 122.6 x 180.7 cm (48 1/4 x 71 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Philip White, 1953.329
collection
Textiles
relatedWorks
id
114728
description
Violet and Columbine, 1883. William Morris (British, 1834–1896). Wool and mohair: jacquard loom woven weft-faced twill, double cloth; overall: 73.7 x 101 cm (29 x 39 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Philip White 1934.329
citations
citation
Korkow, Cory. "Designing an Earthly Paradise.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 57, no. 6 (November/December 2017): 5-7.
page_number
Reproduced: P. 7; Mentioned: P. 6, 7
citation
Korkow, Cory, Victoria Hepburn, and William Morris. <em>William Morris: Designing an Earthly Paradise.</em> Cleveland, Ohio : Cleveland Museum of Art, 2017.
page_number
Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 4-6, fig. 1, 2.
creditline
Gift of Mrs. Philip White
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:45:18.865000
sourceId
130607
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
jacquard loom woven weft-faced twill, double cloth; wool and mohair
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
7c6d15d464f9f3b3