Working Design for Reredos, St Andrews, Uxbridge

Details

Date: c.1890s
Dimensions: 19.8 x 25.5
Object Type: design
Material: pencil on paper
Catalogue number: A523
Designer: Jack, George Washington Henry (1855 - 1931)
Credit notes: Gift of Margery Jack, 1972

This original design indicates that the table was originally intended to be decorated with different coloured wood inlay. On the present example, (G53) the pattern is the same, but painted; the painting executed by the artist’s daughter Jessie Jack, who donated the table to the gallery. Possibly made and designed as a workbox for George Jack’s wife Annie’s embroidery. When exhibited in 1899 the table was described as a ..”very entertaining little work table.., the construction of which seems somewhat frail even for feminine use, but one can forgive that, since it is painted in the gayest fashion imaginable”.

Details

Dimensions: 51 x 40
Object Type: design
Material: sepia wash and pencil on paper
Catalogue number: A459
Designer: Morris & Co.

This embroidery design features large, curling acanthus leaves – a favourite of Morris and a popular feature of many of his designs for embroidery as well as textiles and wallpaper. Morris’s designs enlarged and foregrounded the acanthus leaf, and for this he likely took some inspiration from ‘Large Leaf Verdure’ tapestries produced in 16th-century France and Belgium. Verdure, or ‘greenery’ tapestries featured exaggerated leaf designs, often with other plants, birds and animals nestled amongst them. They became popular as the designs were easily adapted to different sizes, and the weaving process for the leaf pattern was relatively simple. As a result they could be produced more cheaply, and were therefore available to a wide range of buyers, echoing Morris’ ideals of art and design for all.
Acanthus leaves have been used as inspiration for decorative objects and architectural embellishments as far back as the 5th century, first found in Ancient Greek friezes, roof ornaments and perhaps most prominently in the capitals of Corinthian columns. When Greece came under Roman rule, the aesthetics of Greek decorative arts were brought into Roman architecture and furniture. The acanthus motif was particularly adopted and adapted: the swirling, curling leaves providing a sense of movement and depth to designs. The endurance of the acanthus has partially been credited to the adaptability and hardiness of the plant itself. It has been grown all over the world, used in medicines and for the preservation of food. Conceptually, the leaf has come to symbolise enduring life, immortality and strength.

Details

Dimensions: 138 x 76
Object Type: design
Material: pen and ink on paper
Catalogue number: A434
Artist: Brown, Ford Madox, 1821, 1893

This delicate pencil design features Jesus as ‘The Good Shepherd’, wearing a crown of thorns and carrying a crook, surrounded by his flock, and was drawn by Ford Madox Brown, artist and associate of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood and an original founding partner of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. It is a full size cartoon: a working drawing not intended for display, but used in the production of stained glass windows to guide the artisan in the cutting and shaping of each section of glass. The drawing would commonly be attached to a board or table with the glass laid on top, and as a result, many of these cartoons bear the marks, folds, pinpricks and tears of this process. The finished window can still be seen in St James’ Parish Church, Flockton, Yorkshire, alongside windows by Edward Burne-Jones and Philip Webb and a pulpit decorated in the Pre-Raphaelite style by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope.

Details

Date: January 1864
Dimensions: 175.3 x 58.4
Object Type: design
Material: sepia wash and pencil on paper
Catalogue number: BLA433
Designer: Burne-Jones | Edward Coley | Sir | 1833 | 1898
Attributed designer: Morris & Co.

Large stained glass cartoon in sepia depicting Christ attended by lamenting angels, two above holding sun and moon inscribed ‘SOL’ and ‘LUNA’. The figures were drawn by Edward Burne-Jones with decorative foliage probably completed by the Morris workshop. The cartoon is inscribed with instructions for completion for Amington Church (St. Editha) in Staffordshire. The church was built in 1864 by the Arts and Crafts architect George Edmund Street. Burne-Jones designed two of the church’s windows, the Crucifixion was designed in January 1864 and was the central window of the three chancel windows.

Object Type: design

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