Description:
Needlework sampler done with polychrome wool embroidery on an unbleached linen ground, which was made by Elizabeth White (1667-1736) of Hatfield. Elizabeth was the grandaughter of Elder John White (1595-1605-1683/84) who came from England in 1632, first settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and then moving to Hartford, Connecticut, in 1636; and the daughter of Daniel White (c.1639-1713), a joiner, and Sarah Crow (1647-1719) who married in 1661 moved to Hatfield. In 1688, Elizabeth married Samuel Loomis (1666-1754), a woodworker in Windsor, Connecticut. Elizabeth's younger brother, Daniel White (1671-1726) was also a joiner, who married into the Bissell family who were also carpenters. Elizabeth White probably attended school in Boston to receive an education that included the creation of this sampler. Her work is an early testament to one area family’s strong commitment to female learning. Upon completion, it would have been displayed in her family’s home, helping to decorate and refine the domestic interior. Made with colorful, two-ply (crewel) yarns embroidered onto a linen ground, this kind of narrow sampler is referred to today as a band sampler. Bands or strips of geometric floral embroidery running horizontally make up the principle design scheme. The maker also included an alphabet at the bottom, just above her name. Having mastered the basic stitches and straightforward composition of this type of embroidery at about the age of ten, White’s next accomplishment might have included a more advanced, pictorial needlework. This sampler was found in Elizabeth's wedding chest, which was probably made about the same time by either her father or a member of the Loomis family which included 20 woodworkers active in Windsor, Connecticut, from about 1675-1700. Both wool and silk, which could be dyed rich and vibrant colors, were extensively used for embroidery of household textiles. Wool embroidery was more often used for floral designs on linen bed hangings, and needlework samplers were most often worked in silk stiches on linen. There are 19 known examples of 17th century colonial samplers done in silk on linen. Examples of samplers worked in wool on linen from this period are virtually unknown, and this is believed to be one of only two American colonial pieces that have survived. No known schools or extant examples dating to the late 17th-century are known at this time in the Hartford area, suggesting a Boston-or Plymouth-area school. Formerly L2003.10.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2003.39 |
