Embroidered map sampler

Unknown

1835 · Silk embroidery on wool · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Working an embroidered maps such as this sampler became part of a young girl’s education, starting in the 1770s, and continuing until about the 1840s. The map of England and Wales was so popular that printed versions were available to be stitched, which slightly reduces the potential for learning geography, while retaining the importance of practicing neat embroidery. This example that had the name and the maker written on the frame, is quite late. But the polychrome embroidery on a fine wool foundation has survived in relatively good condition compared to some examples that were made on more fragile silk satin foundations. The addition of colored borders in the counties aids in distinguishing one place from another. Other embroidered maps of geographical features were produced, from individual towns and counties, to the entire world in two hemispheres.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1835

Medium

Silk embroidery on wool

Culture

British

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Livingston Parsons and Katharine de B. Parsons, 1941