Fantasy

This partly coloured design is a pastiche of popular motifs of the day. Influenced by the bright and vivacious designs of Leon Bakst for the Ballets Russes, it has an air of theatricality veering towards the surreal. The dream-like sequence of exotic characters includes sleeping nymphs, oriental trees, and the Commedia dell'Arte characters of Harlequin, Columbine and Pierrot, taken from traditional Italian theatre. Such figures were frequently portrayed in paintings and sculptures in the late 1920s, which were popularly displayed in Art Deco interiors. Originally an architect of the Glasgow School, Walton became more interested in the qualities of pattern in interior decoration. Working main

Textile design · Britain · February 1927. Hand-coloured process engraving. By George Walton. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.