Sampler with compound division equation

Mary Ann Sadler

mid-19th century · Silk embroidery on wool · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

We may never know what inspired nine-year-old Mary Ann Sadler to convert her mathematics equation into embroidered form. The problem is worked on the basis of the British monetary system using British pounds, shillings, pence (pennies) and farthings. Mary Ann was a student at St. Mark’s School, which was located next to St. Marks’s church on North Audley Street off of Grosvenor Square, near Hyde Park. The school opened in 1831 with the goal of providing the poorer children of the parish with an education at the elementary school level, and it operated in the original building until 1904.

Artist

Mary Ann Sadler

Date

mid-19th century

Medium

Silk embroidery on wool

Culture

British, London

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

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