Here lies the hoarded love, the key To all the treasure that shall be; Come fated hand the gift to take, And smite this sleeping world awake. Morris's verse offers a suggestion of the erotic nature of the image of the sleeping princess, which is much more evident in this first version than in the larger oil of 1886-90, where her diaphanous drapery is replaced by a far less reveal- ing Byzantine costume. The romantic mood of the original conception, with its simple but brilliantly effective harmony of red and green, is somewhat lost amid the clutter of the later picture, Burne-Jones confessing to a greater interest in the "archaeology," "where I took the pains to make the armour of the Knight later than the palace and ornaments and caskets and things and dresses of the ladies and courtiers." 1 Burne-Jones painted a small, independent watercolour on vellum of the Sleeping Beauty (1871; Manchester City Art Galleries) and another gouache of larger size, repeating the figures of the princess and her immediate attendant from the second oil. 2 Dated 1886-88, this was given as a wedding pres- ent to his daughter, Margaret, and son-in-law, J. W. Mackail, who married on September 4, 1888. The indisputable likeness Edward Burne-Jones, The Rose Bower, 1886-90. Oil on canvas, 49 x 91 in. (125 x 231 cm). The Faringdon Collection, Buscot Park (The National Trust) of the princess to Margaret (in both the gouache and the oil) has been seen as a reflection of her father s sadness at losing her as a daily companion, feelings which perhaps underlie the con- cept of The Rose Bower. 3 1. Lago 1981, p. 173 (entry for March 9, 1898). 2. Sold at Christie's, November 25, 1988, lot 120 (38 1/4 x 59 in.). 3. "Only in an enchanted world like the Briar Rose palace could the princess, Margaret, remain a child and the king, her father, escape aging and death" (Powell 1986, p. 20); of the many psychological interpretations made of Burne-Jones's works, this is one of the more plausible.
Signed and dated lower left EBJ MDCCCLXXI Fitzwilliam work list- 1872 ... 4 (sic) pictures of sleeping Beauty- painted in oil for Graham began in 1871 The drapery around the sleeping princess which emphasises her body beneath, is agitated and shroud-like in contrast to the later version in which the lines are smooth and peaceful and the poses of the figures are more relaxed, indicating the artist's anxious state of mind as a consequence of the turbulent affair with Maria. Cradled in the arms of the sleeping attendant far right, is the stringed instrument that also appears in "The Lament" (1865-6) and in "Arthur in Avalon" (1880-98). An earth coloured tonality imbues the painting and the generalised impression is in contrast to the final Buscot painting in which the eye is invited to investigate the multiplicity of detail.