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Carpet

ca. 1935 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This hand-knotted wool carpet was designed by Ronald Grierson and made in India in 1935. The abstract design resembles synthetic Cubist paintings by Georges Braque (1882-1963) and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). Grierson was a freelance textile, carpet and wallpaper designer. He worked for a wide range of firms, including the Wilton Royal Carpet Factory Ltd. and the Old Bleach Linen Co. Ltd.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Woven cotton and hand knotted wool
Brief description
Carpet of woven cotton and hand-knotted wool, British design by Ronald Grierson, made in India, ca. 1935
Physical description
Carpet of hand-knotted wool designed by Ronald Grierson and made for him in India. The ground is a pink-ish beige with a central abstract design resembling certain 'synthetic Cubist' works by Braque and Picasso. The design consists of various overlapped forms - rectangles and irregular curved areas with decorative infills - spots, stripes, meandering lines, etc., in cream, black and mid-brown. Signed in lower left in black pile.

Cotton warp, mixed (mainly wool) weft, mixed (mainly wool, Persian type knot) pile
Dimensions
  • Length: 272cm
  • Width: 189cm
  • Top edge width: 2740mm
  • Bottom edge width: 2800mm
  • Proper right length: 1892mm
  • Proper left length: 1872mm
  • Weighed on roller weight: 23.5kg
Style
Summary
This hand-knotted wool carpet was designed by Ronald Grierson and made in India in 1935. The abstract design resembles synthetic Cubist paintings by Georges Braque (1882-1963) and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). Grierson was a freelance textile, carpet and wallpaper designer. He worked for a wide range of firms, including the Wilton Royal Carpet Factory Ltd. and the Old Bleach Linen Co. Ltd.
Bibliographic reference
Samuels, Charlotte. Art Deco Textiles. London : V&A Publications, 2003. Plate 113.
Other number
5 (British Carpets and Designs: The Modernist Rug exhibition 1975) - Exhibition number
Collection
Accession number
T.440-1976

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Record createdOctober 2, 2002
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