The lyrical abstractions of nature found so often in Art Nouveau designs appear on this furnishing fabric intended for use as curtains or upholstery. Printed in a luxurious palette of inky blues, cream, golden yellows and soft green, the all-over pattern of morning glory flowers and foliage at once suggests depth within the design as well as draws attention to the flatness of the printed surface. This particular textile hints at Japanese and English artistic sensibilities, both popular in late nineteenth-century taste. With the commitment to a new aesthetic being voiced in England and on the continent, ideas traveling from proponents of the English Arts and Crafts movement to the creators of French Art Nouveau resulted in textiles, such as this velveteen, being made available to consumers for the decoration of highly modern late nineteenth-century interiors. A small sample of a coordinating border design, printed on sateen, accompanies this piece and highlights the emphasis on the thoughtfully-concieved interior schemes of the period.

This textile is a sample piece from the archive of Scheurer-Rott & Cie. Founded in 1813 with the name Liebach, Scherrer & Cie, the company produced textiles throughout the century and was known from the 1890s on as Scheurer, Lauth & Cie.

An example of thisdesign is illustrated in Art Nouveau Textil-Dekor um 1900, Katalog zur Ausstellung des Württembergischen Landesmuseums Stuttgart, Ruth Grönwoldt (1980), pp. 91. This particular panel was exhibited in Alphonse Mucha: Art Nouveau Extraordinaire, October 7, 2007–January 6, 2008, at The Allentown Art Museum, PA.