Embroidered whitework sampler

Unknown

17th century · Silk on linen · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Whitework samplers typically consist of a variety of stitches and lace-making techniques, all stitched in white thread. It is thought that samplers containing whitework, cutwork, drawnwork, and lace designs were stitched only after multi-colored band samplers were finished, as whitework techniques are more difficult. However, this theory is based on a the very small number of documented seventeenth-century embroiderers who made multiple samplers. This sampler includes bands of acorns and stylized flowers, in addition to four bands of cutwork and drawnwork featuring star and geometric patterns. While many surviving English samplers include lace, cutwork, and drawnwork, few examples of seventeenth-century lace have been attributed to English manufacture.

Artist

Unknown

Date

17th century

Medium

Silk on linen

Culture

British

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

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