William Morris Flower Pot - Mousepad

William Morris, 1834-1896, was one of the most influential voices in Victorian art and architecture, and his influence spread far into the 20th century in the form of the Arts and Crafts Movement that he helped spawn. He was an English architect, furniture and textile designer, artist, writer and socialist associated with the ‘Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’ and the English “Arts and Crafts Movement’. This textile is an embroidery that I believe covered a cushion. The “flowerpot’ is an ornately decorated vase that is filled with leaves and the most elaborate flower vines. Morris uses the flowerpot as a main focal point in his pattern if you look closely at the shape of the flowerpot or vase it is very similar in the way the mosque lamp is shaped. Perhaps he was inspired by Islamic art. The vines twist and curve and entwine themselves. It appears that there are two different, yet similar, flowering vines in this vase as there are two types of leaves on the vines as we as two types of flowers.