'The Pilgrim and the Heart of the Rose' embroidery

This embroidery is the final piece in a set of five panels created to decorate the walls of Rounton Grange, a country house in Yorkshire. The panels were commissioned by Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, an industrialist and generous patron of William Morris and his circle.

This set was Morris & Co.’s largest scheme of figurative embroidery and was inspired by the legend of ‘The Romaunt of the Rose’. The story comes from a popular thirteenth-century French poem which was translated into English in the fourteenth century by a number of writers including Geoffrey Chaucer.

The story is an allegorical tale about courtly and philosophical love. It describes a pilgrim’s quest for a rose, which symbolises the love of his lady. Throughout the story the pilgrim must overcome many dangers and is tutored in the art of courtship by the winged God of Love. This panel shows the final scene where he is finally united with his love, depicted here as a beautiful maiden enveloped by a rose bush.

The figures in this embroidery were designed by Edward Burne-Jones who also drew most of the background detail with assistance from Morris. The complete set of panels are all in the William Morris Gallery collection and measure over 20 meters in total. They were expertly stitched by Bell’s wife Margaret and their daughter Florence over the course of many years.