WILLIAM MORRIS & ART FROM THE ISLAMIC WORLD, William Morris Gallery

Image: Objects on display include 17^th century Iznik tiles and 19^th century Iranian metal wares

An exhibition at the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow examines the influence of art from the Islamic world on one of Britain’s most important 19th century designers and thinkers.

William Morris produced hundreds of patterns for wallpapers, furnishing fabrics, carpet and embroideries. Alongside his own iconic designs, outstanding examples of Islamic textiles, ceramics, metalwork and manuscripts from Morris’s personal collection are brought together for the first time to reveal the wider impacts of these objects, their designs and impressions on Morris’s creative output.

Featuring over 90 works, the exhibition demonstrates how some of Morris’s best-known designs such as Flower Garden (1879), Wild Tulip and Granada (1884) were directly inspired by Islamic surface design and its technical application. This exhibition sets out to enrich our appreciation of Morris’s work and broaden our understanding of the underlying influences of this quintessentially British designer. It also provides an insight into the effects of Islamic art on renowned embroidery designer May Morris (William Morris’s daughter). She travelled widely in North Africa and collected many interesting textiles, which are also on show.

'William Morris & Art from the Islamic World' runs until 09 March 2025. More details are available on the website https://www.wmgallery.org.uk/ .