Panel thumbnail 1
Panel thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 125, Edwin and Susan Davies Gallery

Panel

ca. 1864 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
By the 19th century, stained glass was being used almost exclusively to embellish church interiors. The Arts & Crafts firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (founded in 1861), was instrumental in reintroducing the medium to the home. This panel was designed by Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898), the most prolific and influential of the stained-glass designers working with William Morris during this period. This panel is one of four purchased from an exhibition of contemporary stained glass held at the South Kensington Museum in 1864.

Subjects Depicted
This roundel is one of a series of designs which depicts the 14th-century poet Geoffrey Chaucer (died 1400) and six characters from his poem 'Goode Wimmen' (Good Women). The heroine represented here - Penelope - whilst not featured in Chaucer's own tale, was famous as the model of domestic virtue in Homeric legend.

Makers & Materials
Burne-Jones adapted the design for this roundel from the head of Phyllis who appeared in another of the artist's 'Goode Wimmen' series. Adapting an existing design for several different commissions seems to have been common practice among those working for Morris & Co. Indeed, this same series had previously been used by Burne-Jones to decorate a set of tiles, an embroidered frieze, as well as forming the basis for at least three different stained-glass compositions.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Stained and painted glass
Brief description
'Penelope', stained glass panel, designed by Edward Burne-Jones, made by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., about 1864, London, England
Physical description
Panel. Medallion head of Penelope surrounded by diaper of flowers.
Dimensions
  • Height: 55.2cm
  • Width: 49.4cm
Dimensions checked: measured; 19/07/1999 by Terry NB: still on display
Gallery label
British Galleries: This panel is decorated in simple and popular form, which would have suited most domestic settings. It shows the firm's practical re-use of earlier designs. The female head was taken from one of the panels in the same series as 'Chaucer Asleep' (see no. 11). The surrounding painted quarries were selected from a group of patterns created especially for making up borders to stained glass panels.(27/03/2003)
Object history
Designed by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (born in Birmingham, 1833, died in London, 1898); made by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., London
Summary
Object Type
By the 19th century, stained glass was being used almost exclusively to embellish church interiors. The Arts & Crafts firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (founded in 1861), was instrumental in reintroducing the medium to the home. This panel was designed by Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898), the most prolific and influential of the stained-glass designers working with William Morris during this period. This panel is one of four purchased from an exhibition of contemporary stained glass held at the South Kensington Museum in 1864.

Subjects Depicted
This roundel is one of a series of designs which depicts the 14th-century poet Geoffrey Chaucer (died 1400) and six characters from his poem 'Goode Wimmen' (Good Women). The heroine represented here - Penelope - whilst not featured in Chaucer's own tale, was famous as the model of domestic virtue in Homeric legend.

Makers & Materials
Burne-Jones adapted the design for this roundel from the head of Phyllis who appeared in another of the artist's 'Goode Wimmen' series. Adapting an existing design for several different commissions seems to have been common practice among those working for Morris & Co. Indeed, this same series had previously been used by Burne-Jones to decorate a set of tiles, an embroidered frieze, as well as forming the basis for at least three different stained-glass compositions.
Collection
Accession number
773-1864

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Record createdJuly 21, 1998
Record URL
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