Design for a carpet for Girdlers Hall, by Donegal Carpets, 1960

A large rectangular design mounted on a very thick piece of cardboard. The bottom two thirds of the design are completed in varying shades of watercolour (although sections show different design possibilities. The bottom right hand section shows for the most part a striped background in coral, pale yellow, beige and cream, whilst the bottom left background is in dark beige. The top third of the design has not been painted and remains as cream paper with a decorative design in black ink. Overall the design comprises an latticedouter edge with a two floral motif lines within, and oval motifs in all four corners. The oval motif is taken and made more intricate as the central motif in the middle of the rug design. There is a small colour chart in the bottom left hand corner.

Given by the Worshipful Company of Girdlers

This is a design for a carpet commissioned by a City Livery Company in London, the Girdlers, from Dublin-based designers, Donegal Carpets in 1960. The original Girdlers Hall had been destroyed in the Blitz. Heal's supplied the furniture for the new building which was completed in January 1960, and with Heal's encouragement, the Girdlers' committee agreed that Donegal Carpets would create a set of traditional carpet designs to furnish the new building

The design is one of six given to the V&A by the Worshipful Company of Girdlers and form part of a larger collection of nineteen designs. The other thirteen have been given to the Guildhall Library (MS35955), because the Library also holds archives relating to the commission.

E.524-2005