Motif Study · Birds & Animals
Peacocks in William Morris and Arts and Crafts Design
Within the documented record, the peacock enters Morris's work through one design: Peacock and Dragon, a woollen furnishing textile of 1878. The V&A's catalogue notes trace its character to a visit to Vincent Robinson's shop in London.
On this page
Peacocks occupy a narrow but striking place in the documented record of William Morris's work. Within that record, the peacock enters Morris's designs through one documented design: Peacock and Dragon, a woollen furnishing textile designed for Morris & Co. in 1878, represented today by curtains and furnishing fabrics held by the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V&A's catalogue notes trace the design's character to a visit Morris made that year to Vincent Robinson's shop in London, and describe a pattern of paired dragons and peacocks among interlacing floral branches. This article sets out what the museum records establish about these peacocks, how the textiles were made and used, and what the record does not establish.
One Documented Peacock: Peacock and Dragon
The evidence behind this page documents the peacock motif in a single Morris design. The Victoria and Albert Museum holds a pair of curtains titled 'Peacock and Dragon', museum number O78905, designed by William Morris for Morris & Co. in 1878. According to the V&A's record, the curtains were produced in 1878 in London.
The construction is specific. The V&A describes the curtains as hand-loom jacquard-woven woollen twill with braid trimmings, made for use as heavyweight curtains or a wall covering. That thickness matters for how the pattern reads, as the next section shows. For the full account of the textile, see the story of Peacock and Dragon.
How the Peacock Is Drawn
The pattern shows pairs of dragons and peacocks set among interlacing floral branches. The repeat of the curtains measures 109 by 90 centimetres, a large field that gives each bird and dragon room to spread across the cloth.
The V&A offers a reading of the effect. According to the museum, by producing 'Peacock and Dragon' as a thick woollen structure, Morris intended to recreate the effect of medieval tapestries. The pairing of birds across a repeat also connects the design to a wider habit in Morris's weaving; the story of paired birds looks at that tradition in more detail.
Design-by-Design: The Peacock and Dragon Textiles
Two groups of 'Peacock and Dragon' textiles are documented in the V&A's collection. The curtains, O78905, are from a set of four curtains used in the hall of Kelmscott House in Hammersmith, London, Morris's own home. The museum also holds furnishing fabrics titled 'Peacock and Dragon', museum numbers O271037 and O271036, woven wool, designed by William Morris for Morris & Co., 1878. The V&A gives these fabrics production dates of 1878 and of 1878 to 1919.
The records differ on place of production: the curtains are recorded as made in London, while the furnishing fabric versions are recorded as made in Great Britain. Both records come from the V&A and are set out below as given.
| Object | Museum numbers | Form | Dates | Place of production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curtains from Kelmscott House hall | O78905 | Hand-loom jacquard-woven woollen twill with braid trimmings | 1878 | London |
| Furnishing fabrics | O271037 and O271036 | Woven wool | 1878 and 1878 to 1919 | Great Britain |
If you want the design at home, our Peacock And Dragon print reproduces the documented Morris design, with an 'About this design' note linking to its authority page.
Documented Sources: Robinson's Shop and Northern Europe
The V&A states that the 'Peacock and Dragon' design was influenced by a visit to Vincent Robinson's shop in London in the same year it was designed. Morris himself described one room he saw there. In his own words, quoted in the V&A's record, it was 'from Damascus... all vermilion and gold and ultramarine very beautiful and is just like going into the Arabian Nights'.
from Damascus ... all vermilion and gold and ultramarine very beautiful and is just like going into the Arabian Nights
The museum also places the design's look geographically. According to the V&A, the massive scale of the repeat and the dense texture of 'Peacock and Dragon' are far closer to northern European sources than to the Damascus room Morris described. Both readings belong to the V&A's catalogue notes, and this page attributes them accordingly. On what Morris himself said about meaning in pattern, see a closer look at meaning in Morris patterns.
What the Record Does Not Establish
A motif study should say where the evidence stops. Several questions remain open on this page, and the list below states them plainly rather than filling the gaps with guesswork.
Open questions the supplied record does not answer:
- No Morris text mentioning peacocks is documented in the evidence, so there is no record of Morris writing about the bird.
- No zoological identification source is supplied for the peacock depiction in 'Peacock and Dragon', so the species label rests on observation of the pattern rather than a documented authority.
- The manufacturer of the 'Peacock and Dragon' textiles, meaning the specific workshop or loom, is not named in the record.
- No other Morris or Morris & Co. designs showing peacocks are documented in the evidence behind this page.
For the wider cast of birds across Morris's patterns, birds in Morris designs are covered design by design on the parent page.
To go deeper on the single design that carries this motif, continue to the story of Peacock and Dragon, or browse the related collection of prints drawn from documented Morris designs.
Sources & further reading
- Victoria and Albert MuseumV&A O78905: Peacock and dragonMuseum collection databaseRead source
- Victoria and Albert MuseumV&A O271037: Peacock and DragonMuseum collection databaseRead source
- Victoria and Albert MuseumV&A O271036: Peacock and DragonMuseum collection databaseRead source
