Needlework Memorial to Terry Family by Elizabeth Terry
Date1836
Artist/Maker
Elizabeth Terry
(active ca. 1836)
MediumSilk embroidery threads, paint, and human hair on silk
DimensionsActual (not including black ribbon band): OH 17 1/2" x OW 18 3/4"
Framed: OH 25 1/2" x OW 27 1/2"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1962.604.1
DescriptionThis is a square mourning picture executed in split, satin, herringbone, cross, straight, and outline stitches as well as French knots. In the picture’s center is a rectangular tomb delineated by white embroidered borders and inscribed with black thread. A white urn stands on top of tomb. On left side is a woman dressed in a black dress of mid-1830s period with gigot sleeves and a black bonnet. The neckline, cuffs, and waist of her dress are outlined in white. She holds a white handkerchief in her right hand. She has brown human hair and painted face and hands. A man stands to the right of the tomb. He holds a white embroidered cane in his left hand and a black top hat in his right. His suit is the same color as the woman’s dress. He wears a blue vest and white embroidered necktie or stock. His face and hands are painted, and he has brown human hair. They stand on a ground of pale blues and blue-greens. A large willow tree grows to the left of the woman; its pale silver blue branches frame the scene. A trailing garland of flowers frames three sides of the picture (left, right, and top); it includes carnations, morning glories, violets and large roses among other flowers. The inscription on the tomb reads: “Sacred to the memory/of Ann Terry who/departed this life/Dec. the 18th 1828 aged/3 years two month/and 17 days./Likewis[sic] Rachel and Henry dec’d”. Below the scene is another inscription that reads “Elizabeth Terry’s work made in Marietta AD 1836”.The picture is bordered in a black silk ribbon.
Stitches: cross, French knots, herringbone, outline, satin, split, and straight
Label TextThis mourning picture is representative of the needlework produced in several Pennsylvania schools in the early nineteenth century. A recurring feature in these works is the floral chain of carnations and roses forming a border at the sides and top. The wide black silk border was a device that became more common as the nineteenth century progressed. By mid-century it could be found as a printed border on newspaper obituaries, calling cards, and mourning stationary. Although no genealogical information has been found on Elizabeth Terry to date, it is almost certain that she was a student when she worked this piece; she may have attended Mrs. Buchanan’s School, which was in operation in Marietta at the time. Interestingly, a nearly identically composed picture made by Mary Belcher is inscribed with the place name of nearby Maytown and the year 1838, which suggests that Mrs. Buchanan shared her pattern with her counterpart in the latter town, a Mrs. Welchan.
Inscribed"Sacred to the memory
of Ann Terry who
departed this life
Dec. the 18th 1828 aged
3 years two month
and 17 days.
Likewis[sic] Rachel and Henry dec’d"
1660-1680
