Samara [I]

c. 1920–25

Samara [I], c. 1920–25. Josef Frank (Swedish, born Austria, 1885–1967), Haus & Garten (Austrian, est. 1925). Block printed tabby weave linen, loom width; overall: 69.9 x 127 cm (27 1/2 x 50 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Educational Purchase Fund 1937.187 Samara features sinuous branches bearing fruit, a motif that Josef Frank returned to in his later designs at Svenskt Tenn in the 1940s. This textile uses Frank’s innovative technique of stacking and rotating each woodblock print impression to make a cohesive design that does not overemphasize geometry. Within this design are small pomegranates, a fruit that holds a long tradition in textile arts as a symbol of fertility.