South American

Arts and Crafts

Attributed to Mary 'May' Morris, England ca 1905.

Provenance: Dorris Duke Collection / Newport Restoration Foundation, Rough Point, Newport, RI; Parket-Bernet Galleries, New York, May 3, 1958

An open, softly abraded field in pale gold surrounds a stepped octagonal medallion outlined in faded crimson, its center marked by a small cruciform floral device. Scattered across the field are small rosettes, dotted diamonds, and slender vine tips in the same muted crimson, thinning as they near the border. The border itself carries a continuous row of small triangular serrated forms in red against the same ivory-gold ground.

The field is laid out in an interlocking lattice of pointed medallions rendered in soft gold outlines against an ivory ground, each compartment centered with small rosettes, stars, and diamond forms in mustard, rust, and pale blue. A narrow guard band of stylized blossoms and leaf sprigs frames the field, followed by a wider border of trefoil and floral motifs alternating in muted gold and rust on the same ivory ground. The palette stays consistently pale throughout, with warm ochre and soft blue accents standing out against the light background.

An ivory ground carries a dense, symmetrical arrangement of scrolling vinework, palmettes, and lanceolate leaves rendered in muted mauve, sage green, and soft gold. A pendant medallion anchors the center, and small serrated leaf forms punctuate the field at intervals along the vertical axis. The wide sage border repeats the palmette-and-vine motif with a mauve accent stripe, framed by narrow guard bands of stylized floral trellis.

An open, sand-toned field is scattered with small rosettes and cruciform blossoms in muted plum and faded rose, arranged in a loose diagonal lattice that has softened almost to a shadow against the ground. A wide border of scrolling vinework in the same bleached palette frames the field, interrupted at the corners by faint pink cartouche-like clusters. The overall tone is pale ivory and straw, with the pattern reading more as a ghost of itself than a bold design.

An open field in soft ivory carries a faint allover scroll of pink and rose blossoms and vinework, with small rosette medallions placed centrally along the vertical axis. A narrow rosette-and-vine border in muted olive and cream frames the field, and blue calligraphic inscriptions have been added in the outer guard band on all four sides, positioned in blocks at the corners and midpoints.

An open golden-yellow field carries a central ivory medallion with a rosette in muted rose and green, flanked above and below by smaller lozenge and diamond forms strung along a vertical axis. Slender floral sprays and stylized vase or bird-like figures occupy the corners and side spaces, rendered in soft rose, ivory, and sage against the ochre ground. The wide ivory border combines a meandering vine and a diamond-lattice band, framed by narrower guard stripes in rose and gold repeating small geometric devices.

The deep indigo field carries an allover diamond lattice enclosing serrated leaf forms in slate blue and ivory, alternating with rosette blossoms in soft amber and cream. A pale seafoam-blue border framed by narrow amber and navy guard stripes encloses the field, its ground scattered with small stylized amber blossoms set at regular intervals.

A deep red field carries a dense lattice of large palmettes, rosettes, and serrated leaves rendered in teal, gold, ivory, and pale green, connected by fine curling stems. A central vertical axis is marked by three stacked cartouche-like palmette medallions, while a narrow patterned border in gold and cream frames the composition without a strongly contrasting outer band.