The Tulip & Trellis tile was designed by William Morris in the 1870s and produced by Morris & Co. It is decorated in blue overglaze on a 6-inch tin-glazed tile; a polychrome version is also recorded. The design is structured around tulip stems that form a series of parallel vertical curves. When repeated, the pattern creates a flowing linear rhythm across the surface.
The tile forms an evolutionary link with Morris’s earlier quartered designs, but unlike most related patterns in this group, it does not depend on alternating mirror-images in two dimensions. Instead, its sinuous stems anticipate the ‘turnover’ patterns that became characteristic of Morris’s later wallpapers and textiles.
