The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Textile covered in a stylized floral pattern in muted medium-blue and dark blue, medium-green, and cream with pops of red. Red, flame-like flowers extend among interweaving blue and green vines and staggered with clusters of flaring cream petals or leaves. Clusters of three snakeshead buds separate them, pointed petals in red outlined in cream spotted with red.

Snakeshead

Early 20th century
designed in imitation of

William Morris

(British, 1834–1896)
England, Walthamstow, Early 20th century
plain weave cotton, printed
Overall: 85.1 x 100.3 cm (33 1/2 x 39 1/2 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Henry Chisholm 1937.695
Location: Not on view

Description

When Morris designed Snakeshead in 1877, Indian silks were in style and widely imported from British India. This design stands out for its diminutive motifs and the strong red and black colors, which were fashionable only for a short time before paler hues regained favor with clients. While its color scheme suggests distant lands with warmer climates, the pattern showcases one of Morris’s favorite flowers: the fritillary, a wildflower that he remembered growing in the meadows near Oxford.
  • Parry, Linda. William Morris Textiles. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1983. no. 18, p. 150
    Korkow, Cory. "Textiles." IN William Morris: Designing an Earthly Paradise. Cory Korkow and Victoria Hepburn, 8-23. Cleveland, Ohio : Cleveland Museum of Art, 2017. Mentioned: p. 16; reproduced:p. 17, fig. 11
  • William Morris: Designing an Earthly Paradise. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24, 2017-January 14, 2019).
    Design in Printed Textiles. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 7-September 3, 1961).
  • {{cite web|title=Snakeshead|url=false|author=William Morris|year=Early 20th century|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1937.695