Lot 239
MARY IRELAND (1891-c.1980)
'BLACK TUDOR GROUND', A FABRIC MOSIC PANEL, CIRCA 1930
Auction: Design Since 1860 Day One | Wed 14th October | Lots 1 to 245
Description
embroidered appliqué, painted silk, with applied signature lower left MARY IRELAND, framed
Dimensions
27cm x 15.5cm (frame size 37.5cm x 26cm)
Footnote
Mary Ireland was a British artist active from the 1930s to the 1950s, influenced by the Birmingham School and particularly Joseph Southall. Although she worked in several media, including watercolour, stained glass and needlework, she became known for pioneering “fabric mosaics”, incorporating fragments of antique textiles into her compositions. Inspired by Georgian embroidery techniques, Ireland hand-painted details such as faces and hands onto silk, combining them with individually cut and fitted fabric pieces. Her interest in preserving historic textiles led to this distinctive technique after illness prevented her from continuing with stained glass. Ireland first exhibited in Birmingham in 1929 and subsequently received commissions from public institutions and religious buildings, with Queen Mary among her purchasers. After the Second World War, she concentrated on repairing, researching and exhibiting antique textiles rather than incorporating them into new works.
