The Judgement of Paris

Edward Burne-Jones was a prolific designer of applied art, and designed the majority of the pictorial tiles produced by the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. This panel of four square tiles set in a wooden frame depicts a scene from Ancient Greek mythology, the Judgement of Paris. Although the subject is from Homer, the design is typically medieval in its inspiration. Each of the three naked goddesses has a nimbus in the style of Gothic art. The figures are accompanied by animals as attributes: Paris with his sheep, Venus with doves, Minerva an owl and Juno a peacock. One other version of the same design is on loan to Kelmscott Manor.