Morris, Marshall and Faulkner were not the only suppliers of windows during the great stained-glass revival of the Victorian period – Clayton & Bell, Powell & Sons, Lavers & Barraud, and Heaton, Butler & Bayne were also prolific – but the company did dominate the market in the latter third of the century.
Its designs for both an ecclesiastic and secular context were typically supplied by artist from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood including Ford Madox Brown, Edward Burne-Jones and Gabriel Rossetti.
This pair of Morris, Marshall and Faulkner panels, above, mounted as fire screens with Arthurian subjects flanked by foliate borders, probably date from the 1860s. They came for sale from a local clearance at Worcestershire firm Littleton Auctions (17% buyer’s premium) on February 20 without reserve.
Despite a few condition issued (a number of elements were cracked), they were picked up by Arts & Crafts specialists and an NHS worker in Cornwall and taken way above expectations. The hammer price, bid by the latter as an investment, was £7500.
