Paired birds alternate between perched and in-flight in this serene 1878 tapestry design from William Morris. Surprising bursts of colour emerge upon closer inspection, pulling the eye towards the original hand-driven jacquard loom production quality. William Morris designed Bird in 1878 to adorn the walls of his own drawing room in Kelmscott House. His friend and neighbour, the noted typographer Sir Emery Walker, adorned his dining room with an identical Bird tapestry after receiving an inheritance from either Morris or Philip Webb, the famous Arts & Crafts architect.
Our modern Bird tapestry retains William Morris’s high regard for craftsmanship, being woven by Morris & Co. craftspeople right here in the UK using a cotton-wool blend (80% wool).