Snakeshead in Blue

William Morris's Snakeshead, 1876 — the Morris archive's most chromatically ambitious print. Scarlet bell-shaped fritillaries on deep navy, with a chequered detail inside each bell that rewards a closer look. As an H Harness in the Alpha 30 Archive.

Snakeshead is the Morris archive at full saturation — a multi-colour print on cotton, with scarlet bell-shaped fritillaries dominant against a deep navy ground, ochre scrolling foliage carrying the connective register, and pale-green smaller leaves and grey-blue tendrils filling the field. The cloth holds its line on the H silhouette: the symmetry of the H frames the densest pattern moments, and the print's geometry stays steady across the chest. Red stitching pulls from the print's own palette. The chequered detail inside each bell — the visual reference to the snake's-head fritillary that the design is named for — is the kind of detail that resolves on the wearer's closer look. Sourced from Dalston Mill Fabrics in Hackney; one of three Snakeshead pieces in the Alpha 30, the second H/X/Y trio in the Morris collection alongside Willow Bough Azure.

Specifications

Sizing

Adjustable across a 34–50 inch chest. Universal sizing across the Alpha 30 Archive — broader than most fashion harnesses cap at.

Care

Spot clean only. Hand care preferred. Do not machine wash.

Once this is sold, this exact configuration — Snakeshead in red stitching, silver hardware on an H Harness — won't be reproduced. Future drops may revisit the print with different finishes; this combination exists once.