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Kennet

Designer Designed by William Morris British
Manufactory Morris & Company
design registered October 18, 1883; printed 1917–23
Not on view
As one of the forerunners of modern design, Morris took much of his inspiration from the arts and crafts of the past. His disgust with the inferiority of many Victorian industrially made textiles, which he found lacking in both quality and appropriateness of design, led him to study the aesthetics and techniques of earlier historic examples-from tapestries to embroideries. This knowledge enabled him to take inspiration from the past while still creating for contemporary needs. Thus, a two-dimensional design such as "Kennet" could be—and was—successfully used for wallpaper, woven silks, and printed fabrics. The effect in each medium, however, was altered by choices in color combinations (bold or subtle), materials (shiny or matte), and textures (flat or pile). While the undulating flower stalks look back to Italian fifteenth- and sixteenth-century velvet designs, they also presage of Art Nouveau.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Kennet
  • Designer: Designed by William Morris (British, Walthamstow, London 1834–1896 Hammersmith, London)
  • Manufactory: Morris & Company
  • Date: design registered October 18, 1883; printed 1917–23
  • Culture: British, Merton Abbey
  • Medium: Cotton / indigo discharge and block-printed
  • Dimensions: 8 ft. 7 1/2 in. × 38 1/4 in. (262.9 × 97.2 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Printed
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Edward C. Moore Jr. Gift, 1923
  • Object Number: 23.163.7
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Kennet, William Morris British, Silk, British, Merton Abbey, Surrey
Kennet
William Morris
Morris & Company
design registered October 18, 1883
Holland Park carpet, William Morris British, Wool<br/>Turkish (Ghiordes) knot, 25 to the square inch., British, Merton Abbey or Hammersmith
Holland Park carpet
William Morris
late 19th century
Tulip and Lily, William Morris British, Wool, British
Tulip and Lily
William Morris
Heckmondwike Manufacturing Company, Yorkshire, England
designed ca. 1875
Curtain, William Morris British, Cotton, woven, American or British
Curtain
William Morris
ca. 1882
Honeysuckle, William Morris British, Linen, British
Honeysuckle
William Morris
design registered 1876, printed 1876–77

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