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Morris & Co.

Borage (furnishing textile), 1883

Description

Maker

  • William Morris, 1834-1896, British, designer
  • Morris & Co., 1875 - 1940, English

Title

Borage (furnishing textile)

Year

1883

Medium

Cotton; plain weave, indigo-discharged, block-printed

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • cotton

Techniques

  • plain weave,
  • resist dying (correct spelling),
  • resist dyed

Dimensions

Length: 55.2 cm (21 3/4 inches)

Place

Printed at Merton Abbey, England

Type

  • Textiles

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

15.079

Projects & Publications

Publications

Evolution/Revolution

The Arts and Crafts in Contemporary Fashion and Textiles
Read Online

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Evolution Revolution

February 22 - June 15, 2008

Borage is the only example of indigo discharge by William Morris in the collection of The RISD Museum. This type of printing was possibly the most time-consuming of all the print processes practiced at Morris’s printworks, Merton Abbey. Morris worked with natural plant dyes instead of more readily available synthetic dyes. He tirelessly sought a reliable blue dye, which he finally realized in indigo. Historically, indigo has been the most sought-after source for blue. A vat dye and a permanent color, it requires no mordant to fix the color to the cloth. An important color for Morris, blue symbolized happiness in his poems and novels and was also the color of his work shirts.

Dress, Art, and Society

September 13, 1996 - January 5, 1997

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Borage (furnishing textile) with the accession number of 15.079. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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