A Morris & Co. 'Redcar' Carpet, after a design by William Morris (1834-1896), England, Circa 1890

Sotheby's London, 6 May 2005, lot 22;

Where acquired by Aso O. Tavitian.

HALI, no. 142, September-October 2005, p. 117

The Redcar carpet was originally designed by William Morris in 1881 for Sir Hugh Bell’s home, Red Barns, in Coatham near Redcar. Archival photographs in Newcastle University show that the Red Barn carpet was used in, and most likely commissioned for, the drawing room which was added during the 1881-2 extension of the house. The original designs for Redcar are currently on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv.no. E.144-1919).

Notably, the Redcar carpet was one of only a handful designed by Morris himself without the assistance of chief designer John Henry Dearle. While the original bears a Hammersmith mark, comprising a hammer, the letter ‘M’ and a representation of waves, denoting that it was woven at Kelmscott Manor (HALI, no. 28, p. 13), the present example was most likely woven at Merton Abbey following the establishment of the factory in 1882. The soft colouring is unusual compared to the vast majority of Morris’s designs, a palette possibly derived from Chinese carpets (Linda Parry (ed.), William Morris, London 1996, p. 280). Another iteration of the Redcar carpet, woven in the early 20^th century, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv.no. T.3-1919, ibid., p. 280, no. M 105).