Swan House carpet
c. 1883 · Hand-knotted carpet, cotton and wool · The Art Institute of Chicago
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About this work
- Artist
- William Morris (1834–1896)
- Year
- c. 1883
- Medium
- Hand-knotted carpet, cotton and wool
- Original size
- 472.3 × 333.4 cm
- Collection
- The Art Institute of Chicago
- Movement
- Arts and Crafts
A deep red field of interlacing cream stems and stylised flowers surrounds a round dark-blue medallion, framed by a wide border of cream palmettes on blue. William Morris designed the Swan House pattern around 1883, looking to Turkish and Persian rugs for its layout of central medallion, flowering field and continuous palmette border. This example was hand-knotted at Merton Abbey in 1887 and bought that April at Marshall Field's in Chicago for the main hall of John J. Glessner's new house on Prairie Avenue, designed by the architect H. H. Richardson. It stayed with the Glessner family until 1974, when it was given to the Art Institute of Chicago. It is more than four and a half metres long.
This print shows the whole sample, uncropped, from a high-resolution museum scan of the original. The design is in the public domain.
Where it works
Deep red with a navy medallion and cream border gives warmth and weight to a living room, library or entrance hall. Pair it with Holland Park carpet at 24×36 in black.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Arts and Crafts pattern
- Era
- 19th century (c. 1883)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- decorative, classic
- Rooms
- living room, study or library
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. The cream ground is its own mat: a slim black or natural wood frame, no extra mat.
Pairing. Hangs alone or as a matched pair; three or more prints are 10% off.
