Sampler

Period1824

MediumSilk and linen

DimensionsSight: 16.63 × 17.25 in. (42.2 × 43.8 cm)

SignedAt the bottom center of the sampler is worked a floral wreath containing the inscription, "Sophia W. / Brognard / Aged nine years / 1824."

ClassificationsNeedlework

Credit LineMuseum Purchase with Funds from Edward N. King, Jr., 2012

Object number2012.14.6

DescriptionThis delicately and beautifully worked sampler features a pert brown squirrel perched atop a small oak tree, flanked by oak leaves and acorn sprays while a graceful grapevine with bunches of tiny grape clusters twines up the trunk. Above the squirrel are worked two pairs of bluebirds and, in the far upper right corner, a dove outlined in brown. To the left of the vine is a floral spray in a blue vase, while at right a spray of carnations is tied with a blue bow. A large light brown butterfly flutters below the squirrel's perch. On either side of the grapevine trunk is worked the verse "Chuse thy companions of the good / Rather than ill accomplish'd / Or else converse with none / Much better be alone." The "the good" portion of the verse is worked immediately above "companions," possibly indicating the maker had miscalculated or mistakenly left out a portion of the verse. At the bottom center of the sampler is worked a floral wreath containing the inscription "Sophia W. / Brognard / Aged nine years / 1824," with the year worked in dark black thread. Two floral baskets flank the inscription, the left containing dianthus, the right appearing to contain downturned tulips. Baskets, grapevine trunk, and wreath are all anchored by a band of bright blue-green thread worked in satin stitch representing grass or ground. Two tiny additional motifs are visible: a small golden butterfly flits between the central wreath and the left floral basket, while below, a miniature blue bird rests on the grass. The entire sampler is bordered by a carefully worked foliate vine. The large majority of needlework is in simple cross stitch, with the addition of some double cross stitch, split stitch, and satin stitch in shades of brown, green, blue, tan, pale yellow, pale blue, and off white. The sampler's wide wooden frame is most likely original and retains its original brass hanging ring at top.
Curatorial RemarksSophia W. Brognard's sampler is a rather unusual example of needlework art. Sophia's sampler includes none of the typical alphabet lines and only a brief verse and inscription. Instead, Sophia focused her energies on an elaborate pictorial piece, using subtly different thread plies and contrasting stitches to create a feeling of depth and dimension. The complexity of this sampler indicates that Sophia was receiving instruction from an excellent needlework instructor. As her father Francis Brognard was a physician, he may well have been able to afford to send Sophia to a good day academy or to a boarding school where she learned her embroidery skills. To be able to produce such an accomplished needlework piece at the tender age of ten reveals not only Sophia's own skill, patience and drive but the educational talents of her unknown instructress.NotesSophia W. Brognard was born on Christmas Eve, 1815, to Francis Herd Brognard (d. 1829) and his wife Sybilla Ridgeway (b. 1797). Her father Francis practiced as a physician, and wrote and published to some extent, including "Observations on typhus fever, typhus pneumonia, typhus of stomach, and dystentery in Mount Holly, New Jersey." He died insane in 1829, five years after Sophia completed her sampler. Sophia married Harrison Gardiner Wright (1810 - 1885) on 12 March 1834. Wright was the son of Quaker businessman and farmer Samuel Gardiner Wright (1781 - 1845). Samuel Wright also owned several iron furnaces in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as well as in southern Delware. In 1810, the year his son was born, Samuel built a fine brick Federal mansion in Wrightsville, Upper Freehold Township, and named the estate Merino Hill for the sheep he raised there. Son Harrison and Sophia inherited Merino Hill in 1856 and raised their three children, Walter (1835 - 1910), Francis B. (1836 - 1859), and Isabelle (1846 - 1931) there. Sophia died at the age of eighty-six and was buried next to her husband in the East Branch Friends Burial Ground adjacent to Merino Hill near what is now Imlaystown, New Jersey.

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