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Art Institute of Chicago

Spotted

William Morris — Snakeshead
William Morris

Snakeshead

1876

This pattern was first produced in collaboration with dye chemist Thomas Wardle (English, 1831–1909) in 1877, after three months of experimentation. Wardle’s company continued to print selected Morris patterns, and when Thomas died in 1909, his son Bernard maintained this relationship. Unlike woven textiles, the printed textiles are marked with Morris & Co.’s logo on their selvages (outer edges), and the different styles of the typeface offer clues to when a fabric was actually made. The selvages of this example indicate that it was made some time between 1925 and 1940.

Medium
Cotton, plain weave; block printed
Dimensions

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About this work

William Morris, Snakeshead, 1876

This pattern was first produced in collaboration with dye chemist Thomas Wardle (English, 1831–1909) in 1877, after three months of experimentation. Wardle’s company continued to print selected Morris patterns, and when Thomas died in 1909, his son Bernard maintained this relationship. Unlike woven textiles, the printed textiles are marked with Morris & Co.’s logo on their selvages (outer edges), and the different styles of the typeface offer clues to when a fabric was actually made. The selvages of this example indicate that it was made some time between 1925 and 1940.

Medium
Cotton, plain weave; block printed
Dimensions
69.9 x 96.5 cm
Year
1876
Seen at
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Related themes

Modern

More works by William Morris

Collected by

Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art