Lot Essay
The carpet in this and the following lot were ordered by Tom E. Barr-Smith in February 1926 at the behest of the Adelaide Club (of which he was then Vice President) and were presented by him as a gift to the Club in late October of that year.
Tom E. Barr-Smith was the eldest son of Robert and Joanna Barr-Smith, a family that was perhaps the most important and committed patron of Morris & Co. from the 1880s through to the 1920s. Their three Adelaide homes - Torrens Park, Auchendarroch and Birkdale (later to become the home of Tom Barr-Smith) were all extensively furnished with Morris & Co. fabrics, either ordered through the mail or during visits to England. Joanna was a friend of May Morris and this was no doubt an influential factor in directing her taste, at least in the early days of the Barr-Smith's patronage.
The 'Montreal' design was originally conceived by J.H. Dearle in the early 1890s and was first used at that date by Morris & Co. for the Drawing Room at Stanmore Hall, owned by William Knox D'Arcy. The design continued to be available through Morris & Co. at least until the 1920s, with studio copies of this and other designs on display at the Morris & Co. shop in Oxford Street, from which prospective clients could make their selection for carpets. In an attempt to generate more business at a time of considerable economic difficulty, Morris & Co. even submitted a copy of this design to the Victoria & Albert Museum, hoping to receive an order for a carpet as a result. It can be seen from the watercolour pattern sample of the 1920s (retained by the Victoria & Albert Museum for their permanent collection and reproduced above, courtesy of the museum), that subtle changes had been made to the detailing of the original design, probably to adapt to a more 'modern' taste. Unfortunately for Morris & Co. no order was forthcoming from the Museum, but they did succeed in gaining a commission from Peterhouse College, Cambridge, for a blue ground version of this same design. Although the manufacture of hand-knotted carpet was transferred from Morris & Co. to the Royal Wilton Carpet Factory in 1912, when it was no longer economically viable for Morris & Co. to maintain permanent weaving staff and looms, it is not clear how much further sub-contraction, if any, was then done by Wiltons themselves. In the case of the present carpets, the nature of both their construction and the materials used indicate that India was the most likely place of their manufacture, where there existed a long tradition of hand-knotted carpet production. Given the ultimate destination of these carpets, it would seem logical that a decision would have been made to have them woven in India rather than in England, thereby reducing their delivery time by at least two months
We are grateful to Malcolm Haslam and David Black for their assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
Tom E. Barr-Smith was the eldest son of Robert and Joanna Barr-Smith, a family that was perhaps the most important and committed patron of Morris & Co. from the 1880s through to the 1920s. Their three Adelaide homes - Torrens Park, Auchendarroch and Birkdale (later to become the home of Tom Barr-Smith) were all extensively furnished with Morris & Co. fabrics, either ordered through the mail or during visits to England. Joanna was a friend of May Morris and this was no doubt an influential factor in directing her taste, at least in the early days of the Barr-Smith's patronage.
The 'Montreal' design was originally conceived by J.H. Dearle in the early 1890s and was first used at that date by Morris & Co. for the Drawing Room at Stanmore Hall, owned by William Knox D'Arcy. The design continued to be available through Morris & Co. at least until the 1920s, with studio copies of this and other designs on display at the Morris & Co. shop in Oxford Street, from which prospective clients could make their selection for carpets. In an attempt to generate more business at a time of considerable economic difficulty, Morris & Co. even submitted a copy of this design to the Victoria & Albert Museum, hoping to receive an order for a carpet as a result. It can be seen from the watercolour pattern sample of the 1920s (retained by the Victoria & Albert Museum for their permanent collection and reproduced above, courtesy of the museum), that subtle changes had been made to the detailing of the original design, probably to adapt to a more 'modern' taste. Unfortunately for Morris & Co. no order was forthcoming from the Museum, but they did succeed in gaining a commission from Peterhouse College, Cambridge, for a blue ground version of this same design. Although the manufacture of hand-knotted carpet was transferred from Morris & Co. to the Royal Wilton Carpet Factory in 1912, when it was no longer economically viable for Morris & Co. to maintain permanent weaving staff and looms, it is not clear how much further sub-contraction, if any, was then done by Wiltons themselves. In the case of the present carpets, the nature of both their construction and the materials used indicate that India was the most likely place of their manufacture, where there existed a long tradition of hand-knotted carpet production. Given the ultimate destination of these carpets, it would seem logical that a decision would have been made to have them woven in India rather than in England, thereby reducing their delivery time by at least two months
We are grateful to Malcolm Haslam and David Black for their assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.