Decorative arts

Embroidered Altar Cloth

1 of 9

Type: Decorative arts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1875-80
Accession number: 2007.16
Maker: Catherine Holiday(Opens in new tab)
Designer: designed by William Morris(Opens in new tab) (British, 1834–1896)
Dimensions: overall: 67 9/16 x 77 in. (171.6 x 195.6 cm.)
Medium: silk on linen
Description: This is an embroidered altar cloth with an apron in "poppy" design by William Morris. The front and apron are trimmed with fringe along the bottom edge. The embroidered motif features a vertical pattern of single floral blooms in pinks, white, and blue, and leaves separated by a series of stripes.
Credit: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Brooks Dexter
Department: European Art
Find out more: View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)

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This altar cloth was embroidered by Catherine Holiday, a woman who worked as a freelance embroiderer for the famed British decorative arts manufacturer Morris & Co. She produced a number of skillful embroideries after designs by William Morris from the early 1870s. Morris described her as one of the most talented embroiders in Europe because of her artistic aesthetic and the high quality of her work.

Embroidered Altar Cloth

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