· By Studio
New Fabric from an old Voysey
We're delighted to announce that our beloved Lioness & Palms (1918) wallpaper by C.F.A Voysey is now available as a jacquard weave. After many requests over many years, we have at last found a means of fabric production that does justice to the original drawing.
The design by Voysey is from a 1918 watercolour found in the archives of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Despite being first and foremost an architect, Voysey was also well known for his wallpapers and fabrics. He was ahead of his time in his desire to design ‘from the inside outwards’. In his essay Ideas in Things, he argued for the total involvement of the architect in the planning of an interior down to the smallest detail. Indeed, in the top left-hand corner of the original artwork, there is one such detail - a small scribble saying ‘alternative treatment’ with an arrow pointing to a deep blue area of background colour. So, we took Voysey’s lead and have produced two colourways: Midday and Midnight. These circadian colours combined with its obvious repetition give Lioness & Palms a rare timelessness which can live on in your home for many years to come.
The fabric is a sturdy jacquard weave, ideal for upholstery, curtains and soft furnishings. Woven in the UK by a three-hundred-year-old mill, we have retained the spirit of Voysey’s original watercolour by using different weaves to make up each of the motifs. Corresponding wallpapers give you the option of combining both in your space.
Further reading...
Shop Voysey's collections