Bluebell

Designerdesigned by John Henry Dearle (British, 1860 - 1932)

Maker Morris and Company (London, British, 1861 - 1940)

Additional Title(s)

Design for Carpet

Collections

William Morris Collection

ClassificationsDRAWINGS

Date1895-1900

Mediumwatercolor and graphite on paper

Dimensions13 5/8 x 11 in. (34.6 x 27.9 cm.)

DescriptionDesign with deep blue ground, pink daisy-like flowers and bluebells intertwining with green leaves. Pencil sketches of flowers on right.

Inscribedrecto upper left: "scale Hanging 3" = 1' / Kidder Carpet / 1/4 full size" recto lower right, faded stamp: "[?] & Company / 149 / Oxford Street / London"

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

Not on view

Label TextAlso called "Scotch" or "inlaid" carpets, Kidderminster carpets were made by hand weaving two or three fabric layers together to form a single structure. They were woven by the Heckmondwike Manufacturing Co. in Yorkshire. Designs were transferred by Morris & Co. workers onto graph paper (the squares showing where different colors were required) for use by Heckmondwike. The small, precise repeating pattern of Dearle's Bluebell design made this particular Kidderminster carpet very successful, both in Britain and in the United States.

Object number2000.5.89