A green poppy on a pale, warm sandstone ground, which sets a cool motif against a warm field. Contrast is moderate, and the flower reads as foliage first and flower second — the closest this range comes to a botanical green. The poppy is drawn at full size within a two-foot repeat. Translated from a cotton tablecloth or bedcover block-printed in London in 1902, accession 1990.522, on wallpaper and fabric by the yard.
John Scarratt Rigby drew the poppy in 1902, block-printed on plain-weave cotton in London. 'Ragged Poppy' is translated from that cloth, now in the Art Institute of Chicago—redrawn by hand with its border removed, the field tiled to a 24-inch panel. The flower is open and dense at generous scale, and the pale ground reads as much as the motif at conversational distance.
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The Source
Eight and a half feet of cotton, printed with poppies and closed on all four sides by a border of paired buds and scrolling leaves. It was made to be spread flat and looked down on. A tablecloth or a bedcover—the museum's catalogue will not say which, and gives the title only as probably “Ragged Poppy.”
John Scarratt Rigby drew it in 1902. He supplied block prints and woven textiles to G.P. & J. Baker, A.H. Lee of Birkenhead, Alexander Morton, and Liberty & Co. This cloth reached the public under Liberty's name. He was honorary secretary of the Society of Designers.
In “Remarks on Morris' Work and its Influence on British Decorative Arts Today,” Rigby conceded the field, writing that decorative art could not be discussed without constant reference to Morris's work. Morris's own Poppy, a design of 1881, sits in the Art Institute of Chicago. So does Rigby's cloth, which passed through the Antique Textile Company in London and was sold to the museum in 1990 on the Kelvyn G. Lilley Memorial Fund. Morris's is under his name. Rigby's is under a title someone thought to give it.
Rigby drew the field to stop at a border. Remove the border and the pattern keeps going.
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The Specifications
Source: Tablecloth or Bedcover probably titled “Ragged Poppy,” 1902. Designed by John Scarratt Rigby (English, 1833–1914), produced by G.P. & J. Baker for Liberty & Co., London. Cotton, plain weave; block printed. 265.8 × 185.1 cm (104 5/8 × 72 7/8 in.); warp repeat 104.1 cm (41 in.). Kelvyn G. Lilley Memorial Fund. The Art Institute of Chicago, accession 1990.522.
Second example: Tablecloth or Bedcover probably titled “Ragged Poppy,” 1902. Same designer and makers. Silk, plain weave; block printed. 182 × 184.2 cm (71 5/8 × 72 1/2 in.). Alexander Demond Fund. The Art Institute of Chicago, accession 1987.335.
Repeat: 24 in × 16.1 in. Layout [PENDING MEASUREMENT].
Bordered rug: available to trade. The rug carries a border, as the original does.
References: J. Scarratt Rigby, “Remarks on Morris' Work and its Influence on British Decorative Arts Today,” in Clive Edwards, ed., Nineteenth-Century Design, vol. III (Routledge, 2021). Design sketches by John Scarratt Rigby, University of Glasgow Archive Services, Stoddard International design archive, GB 248 STOD/DES/142.
The Cloth
Decor Chenille
A short, dense pile with a velvet-like surface on a firm woven ground. Fine striations catch the light as it moves across the room, deepening the colour. Substantial weight keeps a clean line on upholstery and gives tailored drapery a decisive fall.
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Composition: 100% polyester
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Width: 56 in printable (57 in full)
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Weight: 400 gsm
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For: Upholstery, cushions, headboards, heavy drapery
Cotton Linen
A fine, even linen-cotton weave. Colour prints cleanly while the woven surface remains visible, keeping solid grounds from going flat without softening fine linework. Light in the hand, it falls in narrow, supple folds and filters light rather than blocking it.
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Composition: 55% linen, 45% cotton
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Width: 54 in printable
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Weight: 250 gsm
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For: Upholstery, curtains, table linens, pillows
