Saturday 5 February 2011

Holy Grail Tapestry


I'm continuing to locate dandelions in artworks and i found one the other day while looking through a book about mythology.

The Failure of Sir Gawain; Sir Gawain and Sir Uwain at the Ruined Chapel
is one of three Quest for the Holy Grail tapestries held in Birmingham Museum. It was commissioned in 1895 by the industrialist Laurence Hodson, for his house Compton Hall near Wolverhampton. It is made of wool, silk, mohair and camel hair weft on cotton warp and was designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris and John Henry Deale.


I've not seen the tapestry close up though and would like to go to Birmingham soon to check it more closely.

One other thing: i just finished a lovely book about dandelions by Anita Sanchez. The Teeth of the Lion - The Story of the Beloved and Despised Dandelion is full of information about dandelions, recipes and stories etc. I found it particularly interesting as, with it being written from an American point of view, the dandelion is an alien, invasive species there and non-native. Sanchez is obviously very fond of dandelions, and not only writes about how they arrived in America, but also discusses how so many Americans really despise the plant and spend huge amounts of time and money on pesticides to eradicate them from beautifully kept lawns.

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