Sampler
EmbroidererEmbroidered by
Mariett Norton
(American, born about 1822)
Date1836
MediumEmbroidery; silk thread on a plain-woven, undyed linen ground
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width): 18 x 19 7/8in. (45.7 x 50.5cm)
ClassificationsTextiles
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1994.122.0
DescriptionMemorial sampler worked in dark brown, dark green, dark pink, cream, medium blue and black silk threads on a plain-woven linen ground, using cross stitch and other stitches. The sampler is squarish, oriented horizontally. It is laid out with four rows of three alphabets, the numbers 1 through 12 and an inscription, over two side by side inscriptions, over three columns with the outermost columns containing verses and the center containing a vertical band of pictorial motifs, over two side by side inscriptions at the bottom. The first inscription is "Love your enemies." The second and third inscriptions are "GEORGE WASHINGTON" and "The/ American/ hero". The fourth inscription is a verse, "Happy the child whose tender years/ Receive instruction well,/ Who hates the sinner's path and fears/ The road that leads to hell./ When we give up our youth to God/ 'Tis pleasing in his eyes/ A flower that's offered in the bud/ Is no vain sacrifice./ 'Tis easy work if we begin/ To serve the Lord betimes/ While sinners who grow old in sin/ Are harden'd in their crimes./ 'Twill save us from a thousand snares/ To mind religion young/ It will preserve our following years/ And make our virtue strong./ To thee Almighty God to thee/ Our childhood we resign/ 'Twill please us to look back and see/ That our whole lives were thine./ Let the sweet work of prayer and Praise/ Employ my youngest breath/ Thus i'm prepared for longer days/ Or fit for early death./ The pale moon sinks in western clouds/ Her last beam on the waters die/ I'll shroud me in those sounding woods/ Thro' whose dark boughs the night./ No home receives my shivering form/ No voice maternal sooths to rest/ Alone I brave the midnight storm/ That freezes my unmantled breast/ No bosom heaves the pitying sigh/ For the lost wretch that weeps alone/ O'er her brave father's destiny/ Poland and freedom's patriot son./ Near the low mound my mothers grave/ For godlike truth her Amred fell/ He scorn'd to live oppression's slave/ Or guilt's polluted triumph swell./ Chill'd with the cold nocturnal dew/ Far from my ruin'd home I fled/ O'er fields where war's infernal crew/ Exulted o'er the mangled dead./ Yet mid these shades misfortune's child/ O'er life's appalling deserts driv'n/ Will find a dwelling in the wild/ The dome yon starry vault of heav.n". The fifth and sixth inscriptions, from left to right, are "Mariett Norton's sampler wrought in/ the 14th year of her age AD.1836.Sharon.Ct." and "Sally Ann Chamberlin Preceptress." The vertical band of pictorial motifs contains, from top to bottom, a left-facing bird in a right-leaning willow branch, an urn and a left-facing bird atop a memorial, two sprigs in bloom, a plant, and three strawberries on the vine. The memorial has no inscription. There are various "sample" stitches to the right of the numbers. There are diamonds and a heart. There is a four-sided floral border.
The sampler has a linen backing that is sewn on at the right and left sides. There are selvedges at the top and bottom. The sampler is not framed. It is encased in a covered mat.
Letters and Numbers: There are three alphabets plus two additional individual letters and the numbers 1-12. The letters are uppercase script in alphabet 1, uppercase block in alphabet 2, and lowercase block in alphabet 3. The additional letters are uppercase block AW. The letters J and U are present in all alphabets. Three letters are repeated twice in the second uppercase alphabet: CDS. "American" is worked as "America" with the "n" placed immediately below the "a". "praise" is worked as "prai" with the "se" placed immediately above the "rai". All lowercase letters with descenders, such as the letter 'g', are placed so the descender does not extend below the baseline. The words "alone", "grave", "slave" and "crew" encroach the right border.
Stitches: "GEORGE WASHINGTON" is worked in large and fancy letters, with each uppercase block letter worked in a different stitch and color. There are various "sample" stitches to the right of the numbers. They include several types of four-sided stitches. Some have smaller squares inside, others have circles, others still have small or large x's. The principal stitches on the sampler are cross stitch over two threads and cross stitch over one thread; it also includes satin, four-sided, queen, Algerian eye, eyelet, herringbone, ray, leviathan, rice and seed stitches.
Condition: The sampler has minimal to light fading. The sampler is not framed. It is encased in a covered mat.
The sampler has a linen backing that is sewn on at the right and left sides. There are selvedges at the top and bottom. The sampler is not framed. It is encased in a covered mat.
Letters and Numbers: There are three alphabets plus two additional individual letters and the numbers 1-12. The letters are uppercase script in alphabet 1, uppercase block in alphabet 2, and lowercase block in alphabet 3. The additional letters are uppercase block AW. The letters J and U are present in all alphabets. Three letters are repeated twice in the second uppercase alphabet: CDS. "American" is worked as "America" with the "n" placed immediately below the "a". "praise" is worked as "prai" with the "se" placed immediately above the "rai". All lowercase letters with descenders, such as the letter 'g', are placed so the descender does not extend below the baseline. The words "alone", "grave", "slave" and "crew" encroach the right border.
Stitches: "GEORGE WASHINGTON" is worked in large and fancy letters, with each uppercase block letter worked in a different stitch and color. There are various "sample" stitches to the right of the numbers. They include several types of four-sided stitches. Some have smaller squares inside, others have circles, others still have small or large x's. The principal stitches on the sampler are cross stitch over two threads and cross stitch over one thread; it also includes satin, four-sided, queen, Algerian eye, eyelet, herringbone, ray, leviathan, rice and seed stitches.
Condition: The sampler has minimal to light fading. The sampler is not framed. It is encased in a covered mat.
Label TextThis large and ambitious embroidered sampler combines standard
components (alphabets, numbers, aphorisms, verse) with a prominent
tribute to George Washington. The memorial may have been inspired by
celebrations commemorating the centennial of the first president’s birth
in 1732. His name is emblazoned across the full width of the sampler, each
letter worked with a different stitch in a different color. A stylized willow
bough, classical urn, and pedestal create a traditional memorial vignette.
The texts are the longest found thus far on a Connecticut sampler. They
contain, on left, the complete, six-stanza text of Isaac Watts’s Hymn
No. 12, “The Advantages of Early Religion,” and at right, unidentified
romantic verses about heroic death and Polish liberation.
components (alphabets, numbers, aphorisms, verse) with a prominent
tribute to George Washington. The memorial may have been inspired by
celebrations commemorating the centennial of the first president’s birth
in 1732. His name is emblazoned across the full width of the sampler, each
letter worked with a different stitch in a different color. A stylized willow
bough, classical urn, and pedestal create a traditional memorial vignette.
The texts are the longest found thus far on a Connecticut sampler. They
contain, on left, the complete, six-stanza text of Isaac Watts’s Hymn
No. 12, “The Advantages of Early Religion,” and at right, unidentified
romantic verses about heroic death and Polish liberation.
Status
Not on view
