Hooked Rug c. 1936

Lillian M. Mosseller created this Hooked Rug with unknown materials, presenting a rectangle filled with floral motifs. At each corner we observe urns, which were associated with classical antiquity and appear in funerary art. The floral arrangement calls to mind the "horror vacui" or "fear of empty space" observed in ancient art. Here, the arrangement is stylized and abundant, with the blooms overflowing with life force and symbolic promise. We find a similar visual exuberance in Roman mosaics or even Minoan frescoes. Yet here, on this rug, the design finds a homely comfort. The rug, often walked upon, embodies a sense of constant return, a cycle of use and renewal. Like the serpent Ouroboros eating its own tail, the act of walking upon this floral design becomes a ritual, an endless return, underscoring the cyclical nature of life itself. With each footstep we retrace the familiar patterns, and rediscover the echoes of human experience.