Cushion Cover, Rose Wreath

CUSHION COVER, ROSE WREATH, LATE 19TH CENTURY

This is a Cushion cover. It was designed by William Morris and embroidered by Annie-May Hegeman. It is dated late 19th century and we acquired it in 1944. Its medium is cotton, mercerized cotton and its technique is plain weave embroidered with running (darning), stem, couching stitches, laid work over surface satin. It is a part of the Textiles Department department.

Advances in transportation, botany, and technology allowed florists of the late 19th century to create elaborate new hybrid and hothouse cultivars. The single row of petals on Morris’s wild roses stands in contrast to these showy blooms and reflects his interest in valorizing indigenous plants. Morris drew connections between what he dismissively called “florists’ flowers” and what he perceived as a cultural shift toward increased homogeneity, artifice, and industrialization in society at large.

This object was donated by Annie-May Hegeman. It is credited Gift of Annie May Hegeman.