Description:
Needlework sampler done in silk embroidery on a plain linen ground, which has the inscription, "Mary Anne Cockells work the Twelfth year of her age 1790." This English sampler is a beautiful example of the layered format developed thoughtout the previous 100 years. Although the verses are an important feature of the sampler, the decorative elements of landscape, animals, butterflies and even the putti holding swags reflect a very sophisticated design. The verses include: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding / In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverb 3, ver. 5-6" over "Make much of precious Time, while in your power. Be careful well to Husband ev'ry / Hour. For Time will come when you'l sore lamen, The unhappy minutes that you have mispent" over "Remove far from me vanity and lyes give me neither poverty, nor riches, feel me with / food convenient for me. Let I be full, and deny thee, and say Who is the LORD? Or / lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Proverbs XXX ver. 8" There are now at least five other, similar examples of English samplers like this one known: the Ann Hair from 1762 (1928-12-07) from the Glaisher Collection at the Fitzwilliam); E.A. Allen from c. 1795 from the Feller Collection (formerly the Emma Henriette Schiff-Suvero Collection); Mary Keeling from 1796 (reproduction only by Scarlett Letter); Sarah Lenox from 1804 (2003-414) at the MFA, Boston; and Mary Storey from 1785 (1997.7.83) at The Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vasaar College. All six examples were wrought by girls from northern England and employ similar motifs and verse, including the paired facing deer, which may relate them to the Norfolk area.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+62.216 |
