Sampler, "Friendship," by Unknown Maker

Date1928

MediumCotton embroidery thread on a cotton ground (identification of fibers by eye)

DimensionsFramed: OH 15 1/4" x OW 12 5/8" Actual (by sight): OH 13 5/8" x OW 11"

Credit LineGift of the Sealantic Fund

Object number1996.CG.1212

DescriptionThis is a rectangular sampler worked in shades of red, yellow, green, blue, brown, black, and white. At the top of the sampler are two stags facing each other, separated by a stylized tree and standing on a green band of stitches. Below this motif is a verse enclosed in a decorative red border that reads: "FRIENDSHIP'S A NAME TO FEW/ CONFIN'D, THE OFFSPRING OF/ A NOBLE MIND A GENEROUS/ WARMTH WHICH FILLS THE/ BREAST AND BETTER FELT/ THAN E'ER EXPREST." Below this verse is a large tree bearing yellow/red fruits/flowers. On either side of the tree are two symmetrical sheep eating tufts of green grass. To the left of the scene is a man dressed in a red coat, green breeches, blue stockings, black shoes, and a black hat with a red ribbon; he is holding a staff in his (anatomical) left hand. A brown monkey clings to his (anatomical) right leg. To the right of the scene is a woman dressed in a blue gown with red trimmings, a red petticoat with yellow trimmings, black shoes, and a blue hat with a red feather; she is holding a crook in her (anatomical) right hand. An undulating flower vine border surrounds the entire piece, breaking at the top and the bottom for two medallions that contain the signature line and year; the top medallion contains the initials "L.M.A." and the bottom medallion contains the year "1928". The border is enclosed on all four sides by a straight border of green stitches.

Stitches: cross
Label TextThis sampler is typical of needlework produced during the Colonial Revival. This movement was dedicated to the revival of eighteenth and nineteenth-century craft traditions. In 1921, the publication of Ethel Stanwood Bolton and Eva Johnston Coe's AMERICAN SAMPLERS produced a renewed interest in sampler-making. The arrangement of the various motifs recalls the appearance of samplers produced during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The pastoral scene is particularly reminiscent of New England eighteenth-century samplers and needlework pictures that included similar motifs.
The verse stitched on this sampler can be found in a variety of literary compilations published during the nineteenth century, such as Dr. Gregory's A FATHER'S LEGACY TO HIS DAUGHTER.
Inscribed"FRIENDSHIP'S A NAME TO FEW/ CONFIN'D, THE OFFSPRING OF/ A NOBLE MIND A GENEROUS/ WARMTH WHICH FILLS THE/ BREAST AND BETTER FELT/ THAN E'ER EXPREST."
"1928"
ProvenanceCarter's Grove Collection