William Morris’ Arab Patterns
Exploring hidden Medieval Islamic influences
The Arts & Crafts movement was born around 1880 in late-Victorian Britain as a response to design industrialization. This movement was largely about reviving traditional techniques in booming urban centers that introduced new ways of living and working. It was a backlash to cheap labor and goods and the less celebrated skilled craftsmanship.
William Morris, the most celebrated designer of the Arts & Crafts movement, was a poet, artist, philosopher, typographer, and writer. He did not approve of the Victorian artistic style since it heavily depended on industries. Inspired by nature, Morris drew stylized wallpapers by hand, using carved, pear woodblocks, and mineral-based dyes.
Morris believed that Medieval handcrafts provided the best model for art. He was inspired by the biomorphic floral designs of the Islamic arabesque ornamentation. Medieval Arabs made significant advancements in geometry, trigonometry, and mathematical astronomy. Geometry gained a unique persona during the Abbasid Caliphate. Arab masters employed geometrical shapes and patterns in artistic fields.
Arabesque was presented by Arabs with forms of vine leaves and complex truncations of stems, leaves, and branches. They used repeated chains of interlaced geometrical shapes with animals, birds, and Arabic calligraphy in their palaces, houses, and mosques. These patterns formed the basis of Islamic art and were employed by Muslim Empires throughout history.
According to Islamic belief, good Muslims are admitted to Paradise in the afterlife. They will have endless rivers of wine and pure, sweet juices filled with trees of all types. The concept of Paradise (Arabic: Al Janna) formed the basis of Arab gardens that had multiple water sprinklers and were filled with trees and plants.
One of the best examples is the Generalife of Granada which takes its name from the Arabic Jannat al Areef (Paradise of the Architect). The floral designs and zoomorphic figures influenced Arabic calligraphy and are visible in manuscripts, carpets, pottery, and ceramics.
Between 1870 and 1875, Morris began experimenting with calligraphy, writing, and decorating 21 manuscript books. He developed a repertoire of five scripts, employing Arabic calligraphy with forms of Roman and Italic producing gilded letters. He was also influenced by Persian art and exquisite Ottoman iznik.
In 1891, Kelmscott Press was set up close to Morris’ home in Hammersmith. He wrote 23 of Kelmscott’s books of Medieval works or contemporary poetry. Morris designed Kelmscott’s bespoke typefaces, initial letters, borders, ornaments, frames for illustrations, title pages, and printer marks.
Morris, who loved making books, spent much of his time curving arabesques of Islamic art and illuminating new editions of classical works like the Ruba’iyat (Arabic: verse form consisting of four-line stanzas) of Omar Al Khayyam. He employed the arabesque in his fabric, tapestry, wallpaper, and carpet designs. Morris followed Medieval trends of using bold colors and flora and vernacular patterns.
Morris’ personal collection which now belongs to major UK institutions like the British Library, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge includes examples of Islamic textiles, ceramics, metalwork, and manuscripts. His best-known designs such as Flower Garden (1879) and Granada (1884) were directly inspired by Arab and Islamic surface design and its technical application.
Morris’ Granada (Arabic: Ghernata) incorporates pomegranate motifs and ornate trellis reminiscent of the medieval textiles that inspired the design. The pomegranate motif was the Arab emblem of the city. The Nasrids incorporated it with Arabic designs and intrications. After the fall of Al Andalus, the new monarchs used it as a symbol of victory. The personal emblem of the Spanish Katherine of Aragon, wife of King Henry VIII Tudor, was the pomegranate.
Many of the first commissions by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., were for church clients. This included works of stained-glass windows with arabesque backgrounds. These reflect his particular enthusiasm for the past. It combines medieval Latin and Arab influences.
Morris then started working on tiles rich in arabesque and stylized elements often hand-painted in a distinctive vibrant blue on a white background. Cobalt blue was first used to decorate ceramics in China during the Tang dynasty. The interaction of Medieval Arabs with the Chinese allowed them to produce pure white ware and often decorated their work with cobalt blue geometric and floral motifs.
The technique of tin-glazed pottery was invented in the medieval Arab world and brought to Europe by the Arabs. Cobalt blue Chinese-inspired ceramics were very popular among Muslims and Europeans. The oldest and largest collections of Chinese ceramics in the Islamic world are in the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul. Victorian homes often displayed prized blue and white china collections.
Of blue choose those shades that have the pure, slightly grey, tone of indigo dye (varying somewhat, of course, on different materials). The quality of thiscolour is singularly beautiful, and not easy to describe except by negatives : it is neither slatey, nor too hot, nor too cold, nor does it lean to that unutterably coarse green-blue, libellously called "peacock" blue; it has different tones, brilliant sometimes, and sometimes quiet, reminding one now of the grey-blue of a distant landscape, and now of the intense blue of a midday summer sky, if anything can resemble that. ~May Morris
Kelmscott Manor, a work of true craftsmanship, was the iconic home of Morris. This distant house was to conceal the love affair between his wife Jane and friend Dante Rossetti. Many of Morris’ wallpapers and textiles still cover the home, as do his furniture and embroideries. It is here that Morris created his most iconic prints.
Although Morris did not travel to the Arab or Muslim world, he was inspired by a Damascene room re-created by the London dealer Vincent Robinson. Morris described it, saying:
All vermillion and gold and ultramarine, very beautiful, and is just like going into the Arabian nights
It is difficult to escape Morris’ presence in Kelmscott Mansor. The intricate designs are in perfect harmony with the idyllic surroundings described as “Heaven on Earth”. The Islamic influences are combined with Victorian designs. The curtains, rugs, and cushions draw their influences from Medieval Arab inspirations.
In 1863, Morris met William De Morgan and they became lifelong friends. De Morgan was a trained artist and a designer. He was fascinated with the production of ceramics and devoted his life to rediscovering lost Islamic techniques.
The British-Victorian Lord Frederic Leighton’s works, which depicted historical matters, were very popular and expensive, during his lifetime. He commissioned De Morgan to complete the decoration of an extension for his house in London using Arab and Islamic tiles brought back from Syria and the Near East.
As Leighton needed more tile, he asked De Morgan to manufacture modern copies that were indistinguishable from the original ones. This was very fashionable among the Victorian upper class.
From the outside, the home of Lord Leighton located in the Holland Park Circle looks like an ordinary red brick Victorian house. But, from the inside it has unexpected interior domes and fountains seen in Arab mosques.
This Victorian home includes the famous Arab Hall, one of the most beautiful rooms in London. It has sparkling and remarkable Arab and Islamic designs and tiles collected by Leighton over many years. The interior is richly decorated with gilded ceilings and silk wallpapers along with curtainwork by William Morris.
Leighton was part of the Aesthetic Movement which believed in art that existed only to be beautiful. His Arab Hall was creating a new type of beauty for the London interior, one that could be observed and appreciated by the many famous guests who visited his house. The building of the Arab Hall coincided with Leighton becoming president of the Royal Academy. Thus, it became a symbol of his achievement and status.
The Arab Hall includes a revival of Umayyad and Abbasid patterns. The Syrian ablaq style, common in Mamluk-Arabic architecture, is decorated with Umayyad-styled golden mosaics. The mashrabiya, which originated in Abbasid Baghdad is surrounded by splendid tiles common in Ottoman architecture.
Combining Islamic architecture was the style adopted by 18th-century Egyptian and Levantine rulers. The best example is the Palace of Manial built for the Egyptian governor Muhammad Ali Pasha.
19th-century visitors described the Arab Hall as an exotic space from The Arabian Nights. The harmony of this hall was described by Leighton as:
A little addition for the sake of something beautiful to look at once in a while
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References
- Arabesque: A Genuine Arabian Abstract Art. https://www.bibalex.org/SCIplanet/en/Article/Details?id=5196
- Frederic Leighton’s controversial Arab Hall — the most beautiful room in London. https://www.thenationalnews.com/weekend/2023/10/13/arab-hall-london-frederic-leighton/
- The hidden influence of Islamic art, from Cartier to William Morris. https://www.fastcompany.com/90748684/the-hidden-influence-of-islamic-art-from-cartier-to-william-morris
- Leighton House Museum, Holland Park Road. https://catesthill.com/2011/05/22/leighton-house-museum-holland-park-road/
- Muslim Blue, Chinese White: Islamic Calligraphy on Ming Blue-and-white Porcelain. https://www.orientations.com.hk/highlights/hwlush38moqfp7lhum7klblb2asssj
- Tour the Cotswolds Home Where William Morris Created His Most Iconic Prints. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/tour-the-cotswolds-home-where-william-morris-created-his-most-iconic-prints
- Victorian Era: Blue and White tiles. https://williammorristile.com/blue_and_white_tiles.html
- William Morris and historical design. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/william-morris-and-historical-design
- William Morris: literature and book design. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/william-morris-text
- William Morris: Redesigning The World. https://www.weirdtalesdesigns.com/william-morris-redesigning-the-world/
