In 1898 the Scottish textile company Alexander Morton & Co founded a hand woven rug factory in County Donegal, Ireland. This was to become the well-known Donegal Carpet Company. From its first launch, the company employed the very best and most fashionable designers of the day, including the likes of Walter Crane, Jessie Newbery, Mackay Baillie Scott and Charles Francis Annesley Voysey.
Because of the extensive contact network already established by Morton & Co, Donegal Carpets were able to sell their fashionable Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts style rugs and carpets at such prestigious outlets as Liberty & Co in London and Gustav Stickley's Craftsman showrooms in Boston and New York.
The carpets and rugs produced by the company were extremely popular with the fashion conscious middle classes on both sides of the Atlantic. The company had everything going for it. The designs were by some of the most fashionable designers of the day, they were all in vibrant colours, and they were in bold, contemporary styles.
The carpets and rugs produced by the company were extremely popular with the fashion conscious middle classes on both sides of the Atlantic. The company had everything going for it. The designs were by some of the most fashionable designers of the day, they were all in vibrant colours, and they were in bold, contemporary styles.
One of the most prolific designers for Donegal Carpets was C F A Voysey. Voysey and Alexander Morton had formed a close working partnership. They were both of Irish origin, both had a passion for design and textiles in particular, and above all, an overriding interest in producing the best quality, contemporary textile design work that was possible.
Interestingly, the original concept for the idea of a hand woven rug factory had come from Liberty & Co. The retail company had approached Alexander Morton with the idea of producing carpets at a cheaper rate than Morris & Co one of the main suppliers of art style carpets in Britain. Morton was amenable and with the help of Liberty, Voysey and some financial backing from the British Government, Donegal Carpets was established. The west of Ireland was chosen for the abundance of cheap labour.
Interestingly, the original concept for the idea of a hand woven rug factory had come from Liberty & Co. The retail company had approached Alexander Morton with the idea of producing carpets at a cheaper rate than Morris & Co one of the main suppliers of art style carpets in Britain. Morton was amenable and with the help of Liberty, Voysey and some financial backing from the British Government, Donegal Carpets was established. The west of Ireland was chosen for the abundance of cheap labour.
Liberty's initial suggestion had created a company that, by its very nature, was in direct competition with Morris & Co. There is a possibility that Liberty's approached Morton in order to help widen the market. By encouraging competition with Morris & Co, Liberty might have hoped for a form of price war between the two companies, with Liberty the eventual winner.
However, what did happen is that Donegal carpets retailed, for a number of reasons, at less than half the price of Morris's carpets and quickly squeezed Morris out of the middle class market, leaving Donegal Carpets to dominate while Morris & Co retreated to the higher end of the market.
However, what did happen is that Donegal carpets retailed, for a number of reasons, at less than half the price of Morris's carpets and quickly squeezed Morris out of the middle class market, leaving Donegal Carpets to dominate while Morris & Co retreated to the higher end of the market.
All the carpets shown here were designed by Voysey and produced by Donegal Carpets. They are mostly in what would be classed as an Art Nouveau style, not dissimilar in many respects to those designed by William Morris.
However, Voysey's designs gave the appearance of being much more fashionable and contemporary looking than Morris's work. This no doubt has much to do with the general interest at the beginning of the twentieth century in designs derived from Celtic motifs and styles, in which Voysey's work, though not entirely devoted to the style, does bare certain similarities. It would also have helped the ambience of the product that the carpets were being produced on the west coast of Ireland a percieved traditional stronghold of Celtic culture. This no doubt helped when marketing the carpets at such outlets as Liberty & Co, which had already cornered the market in Celtic styled interior accessories.
However, Voysey's designs gave the appearance of being much more fashionable and contemporary looking than Morris's work. This no doubt has much to do with the general interest at the beginning of the twentieth century in designs derived from Celtic motifs and styles, in which Voysey's work, though not entirely devoted to the style, does bare certain similarities. It would also have helped the ambience of the product that the carpets were being produced on the west coast of Ireland a percieved traditional stronghold of Celtic culture. This no doubt helped when marketing the carpets at such outlets as Liberty & Co, which had already cornered the market in Celtic styled interior accessories.
From the start Alexander Morton was determined that Donegal carpets would be a high quality production. He hoped to draw comparisons with the best in Turkish and Persian carpet production, though there was always a concerted effort not to produce copies of these styles which would always have been but pale imitations.
By marrying the best of British contemporary designers with the best in traditional carpet weaving techniques, Donegal carpets assured itself a prestigious place in the history of European carpet design.
Further reading links:
A Donegal Carpet Designed by Gavin Morton and G.K. Robertson, Circa 1900 Artists Giclee Poster Print by Adler & Sullivan , 9x12
A Donegal Carpet Designed by Gavin Morton and G.K. Robertson, Circa 1900 Giclee Poster Print by Adler & Sullivan , 24x32
Donegal Carpets Film
Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D: From the collections of the National Museum of Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College, Dublin
Irish Art and Architecture: From Prehistory to the Present
Irish Art: A Concise History (World of Art)
Early Christian Irish Art
The Golden Age of Irish Art: The Medieval Achievement, 600-1200
British And Irish Home Arts And Industries 1880-1914: Marketing Craft, Making Fashion
Studies in Early Christian and Medieval Irish Art, Volume III: Sculpture and Architecture
By marrying the best of British contemporary designers with the best in traditional carpet weaving techniques, Donegal carpets assured itself a prestigious place in the history of European carpet design.
Further reading links:
A Donegal Carpet Designed by Gavin Morton and G.K. Robertson, Circa 1900 Artists Giclee Poster Print by Adler & Sullivan , 9x12
A Donegal Carpet Designed by Gavin Morton and G.K. Robertson, Circa 1900 Giclee Poster Print by Adler & Sullivan , 24x32
Donegal Carpets Film
Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D: From the collections of the National Museum of Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College, Dublin
Irish Art and Architecture: From Prehistory to the Present
Irish Art: A Concise History (World of Art)
Early Christian Irish Art
The Golden Age of Irish Art: The Medieval Achievement, 600-1200
British And Irish Home Arts And Industries 1880-1914: Marketing Craft, Making Fashion
Studies in Early Christian and Medieval Irish Art, Volume III: Sculpture and Architecture
