Description:
Rectangular sampler with bands of silk embroidery in three shades of green, medium and light blue, tan, cream, and crimson silk floss in stitches including satin, long arm cross, eyelet, and Montenegran (diagonal forming a cross on the ground) on an unbleached, plain open-weave linen ground. The inscription reads: "Sweet ChiLdren Wisdom / you invites to harken To Hur voice Shee Offe / rs to you rare delights / Most worthy of your / Choice Eternal Blessings / In Her Wayes You Sha / ll Be Shure to Find Oh / Therefore in Youre yo / outhful Dayes Youre / Great Creator Mind;" the numbers 1-20 and "Love thou / The Lord And He Will / Be a Tender Father Un / to The/ Ruth HawkeS / Her Worke October The / 31 1692." The band sampler form was the most popular shape during most of the 17th century into the early 18th century. The standard loom width for weaving the linen fabric that serves as the ground for this and other band samplers of the period is 20". Although the sampler has a vertical orientation, the selvages are at either short end and hemmed on the longer ends where it was cut from the loom/cloth; the threads in the selvage look period. Marking stitches at the top and bottom suggest where to cut the fabric, and are still present on this example. It is believed that this kind of sampler was not stretched or worked on a frame, but were held in the hand while being stitched. This sampler is related to more than 30 similar examples made by Quaker girls in London at the end of the 17th century. However, the inclusion of "her worke" in the Hawkes' example may indicate that Ruth was not Quaker, as it draws attention to the individual. In addition, the inclusion of the day and month, "October The 31," is not in the Quaker fashion which would say "10th month." Anderson believes that that Ruth Hawkes was born in December 1682, the daughter of Samuel and Sarah Hawkes, and christened Dec. 12, 1682 at St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, London. This christening record in a parish church also supports the assumption that Ruth is not from a Quaker family. The St. Botolph records also indicate that Ruth had two sisters - Sarah baptised on Jan. 10, 1681 and Mary baptized June 7, 1685. Dr. Lynne Anderson calls this kind an "integrated verse" band sampler, for its employ of verse broken up by bands of embroidery, which on this example include grape bunches and daisy in rolling arcade. This group of samplers all use a narrow range of different verses.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+57.057.1 |
