Furnishing fabric 'Marquise' of woven wool, woven in West Germany, 1986, for UNIKA VAEV, USA, after a 1876 design by William Morris.

Woven woollen furnishing fabric. The pattern is picked out in mauve and dull green, and shows an ogee repeating motif of large 'Crown Imperial' lily heads.

Given by Sina Pearson

Registered File number 1986/1768.
One of nine woven samples (T.157 to H-1986) with different colourways of a woven woollen fabric closely based on the 1876 William Morris design 'Crown Imperial'. The original design was woven in two scales - 'Crown Imperial' a woven cotton fabric with a repeat of 15.72 inches x 10 inches (40 cms x 42.5 cms), and in woven wool and mohair, called 'Mohair Damask', with a smaller repeat. Although these later reproductions are woven in wool, they more closely resemble the larger scale design. The pattern is picked out in two colours and shows an ogee repeating motif of large Crown Imperial lily heads.

The fabric was woven in West Germany for the American firm of Unika-Vaev, who specialised in contract work for offices and other large-scale interiors. The firm has also been responsible for reproductions of Wiener Werstatte fabrics, and the factory responsible for the re-weaving of the Morris and the Austrian designs is the same as was originally used for the Wiener Werstatte fabrics.

Each sample has an identifying label attached to it giving technical details of each piece.

Woven to a width of 51 inches (129.5 cms) and the fabric is 100% wool.

Made for UNIKA VAEV, USA.

T.157-1986