Ispahan by J.H. Dearle

What Ispahan shows

Although widely sought as an ispahan William Morris pattern, Ispahan is a structured repeating pattern designed by Morris’s apprentice and successor, John Henry Dearle. The design organizes botanical motifs within a rhythmic, interlocking ogival lattice. Prominent lobed medallions form the center of each repeating frame, housing stylized pomegranates or seed pods alongside small floral buds.

Thick foliate branches curve upward across the field, covered in serrated acanthus leaves and spiky foliage. Delicate, paler sprigs branch off the main stems, terminating in small white five-petaled rosettes that puncture the darker leafy field. Pointed lancet leaves and scrolling floral palmettes reinforce the vertical symmetry. A dark, textured ground creates depth behind the lighter sage, olive, and stone-colored details.

Who designed it and when

John Henry Dearle designed Ispahan in 1888 for Morris & Co. Dearle began working for the firm in 1878 as a teenager in the Oxford Street showroom. Recognizing his talent as a draftsman, William Morris trained Dearle in glass painting and weaving, making him Morris & Co.’s first weaving apprentice. You can read more about Morris’s partnership with his craftsmen in our guide to William Morris.

In the late 1880s, Dearle took on the design of repeating patterns for wallpapers and fabrics. Dearle exhibited many early patterns directly under Morris’s name, which led many buyers to assume Morris drew them. Dearle became head designer for Morris & Co. in 1890 and served as Art Director after Morris died in 1896. Historians note that Dearle introduced distinct Persian and Turkish influences into the firm’s output, a direction visible in the name and geometric organization of Ispahan.

How it was made and used

Morris & Co. produced Ispahan as a woven textile at their Merton Abbey works in Surrey. Surviving museum examples, such as a length measuring 51 1/2 inches in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, are woven from wool using a compound twill weave. The twill structure created a heavy, durable fabric suitable for interior furnishings, portieres, and upholstery.

The compound weave allowed Dearle to build subtle textural shifts across the floral medallions and interlocking straps. Rather than relying on surface pigment like a printed chintz, Ispahan derived its depth from interlaced dyed wool yarns. Its formal, lattice-like structure shares geometry with traditional grid patterns like Diaper, while incorporating dense foliage across the twill ground.

Colourways

This site offers Ispahan in one colourway: Green on Stone. The palette presents sage and olive leaves against pale stone branches, accented by dark, deep-toned ground threads. Green on Stone is our catalog name for the scan and was not an original Victorian trade label.

The digital image comes from an open-access museum scan published by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The scanned textile length dates to circa 1888 and is in the public domain. To view this design alongside other textiles and wallpapers from the firm, explore our complete index of William Morris designs.

Ispahan as a print

You can order Ispahan as an art print printed and shipped by ArtsyWall. Three formats are available: Archival Paper, Premium Canvas, and Framed Canvas. The Archival Paper option uses 340gsm textured cotton rag paper, shipping rolled in a tube for custom framing. Premium Canvas is stretched over solid wood bars and includes a sawtooth hanger.

Framed Canvas prints arrive ready to hang with an attached wire. They feature wood floating frames available in six finishes: black, white, gold, silver, walnut, and oak. On a wall, Ispahan reads with architectural poise. The geometric strapwork provides order, while the dense Merton Abbey wool texture translates into rich, organic detail suitable for both modern and traditional rooms.