Oriental Carpet Design
In 1837 the London manufacturer Lapworth & Riley ordered a set of carpet designs from an agent in Paris. These highly detailed gouache drawings demonstrate how European designers created "Oriental" designs about 1840. This example imaginatively combines ornament from several Islamic sources. The middle band is filled with a meander of stylized, curled, and flattened leaf shapes interspersed with butas (bent-tipped palm leaves) and set against a dark ground; the patterns recall Persian metalwork and ceramics. The floral elements in the outside border are also probably Persian, or possibly Mughal, in origin, but the strapwork at the center of the design relates to Moorish originals. Only after the appearance of such publications as Owen Jones's Grammar of Ornament (1856) and Albert-Charles-Auguste Racinet's L'Ornement polychrome (1869) would European designers begin to distinguish among the various Islamic cultures.
Artwork Details
- Title: Oriental Carpet Design
- Patron: Commissioned by Lapworth & Riley (active London 1837–1885)
- Artist: Anonymous, French, 19th century
- Date: ca. 1837
- Medium: Gouache on card
- Classifications: Drawings, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1954
- Object Number: 54.606.20
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Lapworth & Riley
Anonymous, French, 19th century
1837
Lapworth & Riley
Anonymous, French, 19th century
1837
Joseph Mallord William Turner
1843
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Henry Treffry Dunn
1867
Sir Edward Burne-Jones
1879
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.