Sampler

Maker Mary Martin

Period1782

MediumPlied silk thread on wool

Dimensions14.75 × 13.63 in. (37.5 × 34.6 cm)

SignedThe sampler is signed and dated "Mary Martin 1782."

ClassificationsNeedlework

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Julia Hartshorne Trask, 1946

Object number2084.3

DescriptionA square sampler of finely woven off-white wool embroidered with plied silk thread in dark green, medium green, pale green, steel blue, sky blue, purple, russet brown, golden brown, pale yellow, scarlet, dusty rose, off-white, and black. All needlework is in cross stitch. A large diamond shaped frame with a dagged edge is centered on the wool panel, with interlocking lozenges at the left and right sides. Within the diamond is a verse reading "Virtue is the greatest Beauty of the mind / The noblest Ornament of human kind / Virtues our safeguard and our guiding star / Which stirs up reason when our Senses err." The verse is flanked on either side by pairs of stylized crown elements. Above the verse is a 1/4 inch upper case alphabet, three crown motifs, and decorative floral repeat bands. Below the verse runs a half-inch upper case partial alphabet from A to M. Beneath the alphabet run is a repeat band of light blue flowers. Below the floral band are three small squares, featuring a pair of what appear to be lions beneath a tree and two mirror image stags. At the very bottom of the diamond frame is the signature and date "Mary Martin / 1782," with a small red crown worked at the bottom point of the diamond frame. In the top two corners of the wool panel are worked elaborate and graceful floral sprays which include rosebuds and forget-me-nots, tied with a drooping ribbon bow. In the bottom two corners are two elegant two-handled woven baskets resting atop small grassy hills, with large floral sprays including rosebus and forget-me-nots. A tiny single cross stitch edging runs along the left and right sides of the wool ground, while a narrow pulled thread band edges the top and bottom. The wool panel has been sewn to a 1/2 inch woven linen tape.
Curatorial RemarksAlthough sampler maker Mary Martin has not yet been conclusively identified, it is clear that she lived in the Norfolk area of England. Her sampler, with its distinctive stepped diamond-shaped panel, floral bouquets worked in all four corners, and even the pair of "confronting deer" above the maker's signature, is part of a large group of beautifully-worked embroideries made in Norfolk from the 1730s to the 1830s. While many sampler verses can be easily traced, the source for Mary's inscription has not been identified. It does appear in samplers on both sides of the Atlantic as early as 1806 on a Scottish sampler, and as late as 1843 on a New York needlework piece.

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