'The Poets' (Homer, Dante, Chaucer), Set of Three Early Windows, circa 1863

In 1861, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. was founded by the artists William Morris, Peter Paul Marshall, and Charles Faulkner together with friends and artists from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, including Edward Burne-Jones, who was also financially involved. The firm was meant to revive the arts of the pre-Renaissance era, drawing inspiration from medieval aesthetics and implementing traditional artistic practices prizing hand-craftsmanship such as wood carving, textile weaving, and stained glass among other trades. The firm received one of its first commissions from Charles Hastings, the textile manufacturer, for his house in Yorkshire, 'Silsden'. The present windows were designed for the breakfast room of 'Silsden'. Burne-Jones designed the figures and Morris designed the floral backgrounds. Another 'The Poet' window for this room, 'King David', can be found in the permanent collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 1998.231). The drawings for the present 'Dante' and 'Chaucer' windows can be found in the permanent collection of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens (respectively obj. no. 2000.5.1847F and G).