The Backgammon Players

A well-decorated pine cabinet by British designer Philip Webb and painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones in the late 1800s was inspired by William Morris’ Arts and Crafts Movement. 1 The work was a part of Morris’ movement to “spawn a Gothic revival that had both stylistic and philosophical implications” with “high design standards”. 2 This cabinet was created for the Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. firm which was Morris’ push into the industrial world to revive handcraft methods. Its design reflects the movement's high-quality craftsmanship and functionality with heavy embellishment. 3 In particular, the cabinet patterns parallel Morris' book designs in which the pattern-filled panels act as margins to frame the center image.

The interior and sides of the cabinet are covered in repeated botanical patterns inspired by Oriental designs made of gold embellishments, ink, and watercolor. 4  The cabinet doors display an oil painting of two backgammon players dressed in medieval wear on leather, which is an ode to Morris’ appeal for medieval work.

1. Webb, Philip. The Backgammon Players. 1861, Pine cabinet. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

2. Morris, Williams. “The Ideal Book.” Looking Closer 3: Classic Writing on Graphic Design. New York: Allworth Press, 1999. 1.

3. Miller, Elizabeth C. “Sustainable Socialism: William Morris on Waste.” Links to an external site. Journal of Modern Craft 4.1 (March 2011), 8.

4. ibid