William Morris spent his life fighting against the cheap, soul-crushing mass production of the Industrial Revolution. He advocated instead for a return to handcrafted skill, traditional techniques, and the natural beauty found in medieval design.  He famously captured his design philosophy in a single piece of advice: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

This huge William Morris carpet would undoubtedly would have been woven at Merton Abbey due to its enormous scale.  Merton Abbey represented a radical pushback against the stiff, lifeless, machine-woven carpets of the Victorian era. He wanted to revive the magnificent, dense quality of traditional Persian and Turkish hand-knotted rugs.  The “Hammersmith” Legacy: Morris actually began experimenting with hand-knotted rugs in 1878 at his home in Hammersmith. Even after moving the operation to the much larger Merton Abbey facility in 1882, these luxury, hand-knotted wool rugs continued to carry the official trade name of William Morris.

An exceptional and highly rare William Morris hand-woven carpet, presenting an impressive scale and striking aesthetic appeal. The piece features a prominent, flowing large-scale floral motif synonymous with Morris’s signature design philosophy. Its sophisticated palette incorporates the iconic colour-ways of his historic productions: a soft pink-and-red border contrasting beautifully against a deep blue main field, punctuated by delicate accents of pale blue, purple, and green.

Preserved in remarkable condition, the carpet has undergone sympathetic conservation and minor restoration to localised areas of the main border. This expert craftsmanship has been executed to an exceptional standard and remains entirely invisible to the naked eye. This represents an extraordinary opportunity to acquire a significant piece of textile history from the William Morris circle.

Request a home visit to view this important carpet of history from the famed William Morris workshop in-situ.