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Wall Hanging
1885 (designed), 1894 (embroidered)
Artist/Maker
Mary (May) Morris (designer)
Theodosia Middlemore (embroiderer)
Place of origin
Great Britain (made)

Silk taffeta ground embroidered with coloured silk
Worked in darning stitch, stem stitch, herringbone stitch, buttonhole stitch, pistil stitch and laid work
a long strip of blue tape sewn with metal rings and beige cord.


Object details

Categories
Textiles
Wall Coverings
Embroidery
Interiors
Object type
Wall hanging
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Hanging
  • Tape
Titles
  • Fruit Garden (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Silk
Silk Thread
Woven
Embroidering
Brief description
'Fruit Garden' portière or hanging of plain weave silk with embroidery in silk, designed by May Morris in 1885, worked by Theodosia Middlemore, England, 1894.
Physical description
Silk taffeta ground embroidered with coloured silk
Worked in darning stitch, stem stitch, herringbone stitch, buttonhole stitch, pistil stitch and laid work
a long strip of blue tape sewn with metal rings and beige cord.
Dimensions
  • Height: 108in (Note: Taken from RF)
  • Width: 69in (Note: Taken from RF)
Marks and inscriptions
Embroidered motto: 'Lo waneth the Summer the apple boughs fade Yet fair still my garden twixt sunlight & shade' signed and dated: 'Theodosia/1894'
Object history
Sometimes known as 'The Orchard' after the poem 'The Flowering Orchard' by William Morris, published in 1891. An extract is embroidered onto the hanging.
Bibliographic references
  • Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion, edited by Lesley Ellis Miller and Ana Cabrera Lafuente with Claire Allen-Johnstone, Thames and Hudson Ltd. in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom, 2021, pp. 428-429
  • May Morris: Arts and Crafts Designer, edited Anna Mason et al, Thames and Hudson Ltd. in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2017, pp.96-97
  • Miller, Lesley Ellis, and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, with Claire Allen-Johnstone, eds. Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2021. ISBN 978-0-500-48065-6. This object features in the publication Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion (2021)
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
CIRC.206&A-1965

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O353974/-wall-hanging-mary-may-morris/
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