Panel thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 125, Edwin and Susan Davies Gallery

Panel

ca. 1862 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
The firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. was founded in 1861 and dedicated much energy to making stained glass for secular use. This panel, the second of six relating the legend of St George and the Dragon, depicts 'How ... word came to the King of Egypt touching a Dragon that ate much folk...'. The series was believed to have been made to decorate windows at Harden Hall in Bingley, West Yorkshire. Morris & Co. soon built up an extensive repertoire of designs which could be reproduced or adapted for new commissions. At least one other version of the series is know to survive in a house in Cragside, Northumberland.

People
This series was designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882). Following his preoccupations with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, he came into contact with William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones in 1856. They shared an enthusiasm for the legendary past and expressed it in narrative cycles such as this. Rossetti produced considerably fewer cartoons for stained-glass windows than others in the group, and his interest in the medium died out after a few years.

Subjects Depicted
The choice of a saintly history for a domestic glazing scheme was not unusual in the work of Morris & Co. Such leanings towards religious subject-matter were perhaps an inevitable consequence of the group's ambition to emulate the style of Medieval stained glass.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Clear, flashed and coloured glass, painted with brown enamel and yellow stain
Brief description
Stained glass panel depicting the Legend of St George: How word came to the King of Egypt touching a certain dragon that ate much folk and must needs be fed with a noble damsel to stay his maw
Physical description
Panel. St. George and the Dragon: The king and queen seated. Before them a man with a basket of skulls and another holding up a picture of the dragon. Other men crowding forward. At the top a band of foliate-starred quarries. Below, and inscription: "HOW WORD CAME TO THE KIND OF EGYPT TOUCHING A CERTAIN DRAGON THAT ATE MUCH FOLK AND MUST NEEDS BE FED WITH A NOBLE DAMSEL TO STAY HIS MAW"
Dimensions
  • Height: 82.5cm
  • Width: 60.8cm
  • Depth: 3.2cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 30/01/2001 by Drew
Marks and inscriptions
Along base of panel 'How word came to the King of Egypt touching a certain dragon that ate much folk and needs be fed with a noble damsel to stay his maw'
Gallery label
British Galleries: STAINED GLASS PANELS: The legend of St. George and the Dragon
Churches provided Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. with their first successful commissions as decorators. The firm's stained glass windows were particularly popular and they soon began producing secular designs for use in the home. This series of six windows shows the legend of St George. Rossetti designed many stained-glass panels for the firm. His compositions were always vigorous and dramatic.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Bequeathed by J. R. Holliday
Object history
Designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (born in London, 1828, died in Birchington-on-Sea, Kent, 1882); Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., London
Summary
Object Type
The firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. was founded in 1861 and dedicated much energy to making stained glass for secular use. This panel, the second of six relating the legend of St George and the Dragon, depicts 'How ... word came to the King of Egypt touching a Dragon that ate much folk...'. The series was believed to have been made to decorate windows at Harden Hall in Bingley, West Yorkshire. Morris & Co. soon built up an extensive repertoire of designs which could be reproduced or adapted for new commissions. At least one other version of the series is know to survive in a house in Cragside, Northumberland.

People
This series was designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882). Following his preoccupations with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, he came into contact with William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones in 1856. They shared an enthusiasm for the legendary past and expressed it in narrative cycles such as this. Rossetti produced considerably fewer cartoons for stained-glass windows than others in the group, and his interest in the medium died out after a few years.

Subjects Depicted
The choice of a saintly history for a domestic glazing scheme was not unusual in the work of Morris & Co. Such leanings towards religious subject-matter were perhaps an inevitable consequence of the group's ambition to emulate the style of Medieval stained glass.
Bibliographic reference
Page 136 (with image) Laurie Marty de Cambiaire, Drawings & Sketches, (Paris: Marty de Cambiaire, 2015)
Collection
Accession number
C.316-1927

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Record createdJuly 20, 1998
Record URL
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