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Sample

Sample

  • Place of origin:

    Glasgow, Scotland (made)

  • Date:

    1951 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Robert Anderson (designer)
    James Templeton & Company (manufacturer)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Machine-woven

  • Credit Line:

    Given by the Council of Industrial Design

  • Museum number:

    CIRC.48-1968

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

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In 1946 Dr. Helen Megaw, a crystallographer (crystallography – the study of the structure of matter) suggested that the patterns made available by X-ray crystallography could be used as a fresh source of inspiration for wallpaper and fabric designs. The patterns were considered particularly appropriate for textile design because of their repetitive symmetry and natural beauty.

Megaw’s idea caught the attention of Mark Hartland Thomas from the Council of Industrial Design. For the forthcoming Festival of Britain in 1951 Hartland Thomas put together a group of manufacturers known as the Festival Pattern Group who produced textiles, china, carpets, linoleum and wallpaper decorated with crystallographic patterns. The project combined science and design and was perfect for the theme of the festival, which had been conceived as a platform for British ingenuity and creativity in science, technology and the arts.

This carpet was shown as part of a display in the ‘Regatta Restaurant’, South Bank (one of the main restaurants at the festival), where Crystal Structures were the theme of the furnishings. The pattern was based on a crystal structure diagram of resorcinol, a chemical compound and was designed by Robert Anderson. It is one of a group of samples made by the carpet manufacturers James Templeton & Co for the Festival Pattern Group.

Physical description

Sample of machine-woven carpet with a pattern based on a crystal structure diagram of resorcinol.

Place of Origin

Glasgow, Scotland (made)

Date

1951 (made)

Artist/maker

Robert Anderson (designer)
James Templeton & Company (manufacturer)

Materials and Techniques

Machine-woven

Dimensions

Height: 43 cm, Width: 47 cm, Height: 17 in, Width: 18.75 in

Object history note

X-ray crystallography involved projecting a narrow beam of X-rays on to crystalline material. Photographs were then taken of the diffracted X-rays, and the resulting lines or spots were used to plot diagrams indicating the relationships between atoms. For the first time ever it enabled scientist to work out the structure of atoms within molecules. Britain was a world leader in the field of crystallography and during the post war period this was one of the most significant and stimulating branches of science.

Historical context note

Carpet used in the Regatta Restaurant, South Bank, at the Festival of Britain, 1951.

Descriptive line

Sample of machine-woven carpet, designed by Robert Anderson, made by James Templeton & Company, Glasgow, 1951

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Design, 29-30, May-June, 1951, p.22.

Exhibition History

Exhibition; 'From Atoms to Patterns, Crystal Structure Designs from the 1951 Festival of Britain'
Wellcome Collection, The Wellcome Trust, London, 24 April - 10 Aug 2008.

Catalogue; 'From Atoms to Patterns, Crystal Structure Designs from the 1951 Festiv

Associated Events

Festival of Britain

Subjects depicted

Resorcinol

Categories

Textiles; Interiors; Floor coverings

Collection code

T&F

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Qr_O140771
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