Embroidered sampler

Unknown

1670 · Silk on linen · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Samplers from Friesland, in the northwest of the Netherlands, are characterized chiefly by many alphabets and a tree of life motif. This sampler also features pierced and crowned hearts and windmills, motifs typical of samplers from the Netherlands. The sampler includes stitched initials "T", "H", and "HK" flanking hearts. It is possible the sampler maker embroidered the letters to commemorate a sibling’s marriage. If this is the case, "T" would be the initial of the sibling’s first name and "HK" the initials of the spouse’s full name. The year 1670, stitched below "T hearts H," is either the year in which the maker completed her work or the year her sibling got married.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1670

Medium

Silk on linen

Culture

Dutch, probably Friesland

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

From the Collection of Mrs. Lathrop Colgate Harper, Bequest of Mabel Herbert Harper, 1957