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Embroidered Altar Cloth

Designer (British, 1834 - 1896)
ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS
Date1875-80
Mediumsilk on linen
Dimensionsoverall: 67 9/16 x 77 in. (171.6 x 195.6 cm.)
DescriptionThis is an embroidered altar cloth with an apron in "poppy" design by William Morris. The front and apron are trimmed with fringe along the bottom edge. The embroidered motif features a vertical pattern of single floral blooms in pinks, white, and blue, and leaves separated by a series of stripes.
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Brooks Dexter
Label TextThis altar cloth was embroidered by Catherine Holiday, a woman who worked as a freelance embroiderer for the famed British decorative arts manufacturer Morris & Co. She produced a number of skillful embroideries after designs by William Morris from the early 1870s. Morris described her as one of the most talented embroiders in Europe because of her artistic aesthetic and the high quality of her work.
Status
On view
Object number2007.16
Cheval Screen with Embroidered Panel
May Morris
ca. 1880
Object number: 2000.5.1871
Ebonised Demi-lune Cabinet with Embroidered Panels
Walter Crane
ca. 1875
Object number: 2004.11
Columbine
William Morris
ca. 1876
Object number: 2000.5.522
Wandle
William Morris
ca. 1884
Object number: 2000.5.1836
Unknown, British, 18th Century
late 18th Century
Object number: 2024.26.31
Eve
William Morris
ca. 1864
Object number: 2000.5.409
Honeysuckle
William Morris
ca. 1876
Object number: 2000.5.60
Little Chintz
William Morris
ca. 1876
Object number: 2000.5.122
Honeysuckle
William Morris
registered in 1876
Object number: 2000.5.888
Pink and Rose
William Morris
n.d.
Object number: 2000.5.120
Interior, Unidentified Church, looking down nave toward altar
Unknown
19th Century
Object number: 2000.5.2883
Acanthus
William Morris
registered in 1879
Object number: 2000.5.902