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Two-Column Band Sampler
1685
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This embroidery sampler, dated to 1685, exemplifies the fine workmanship and neatness typical of historical German embroidery. The style seen here is known as a two-column band sampler, with different patterns and stitch types used in banded areas (horizontal rows) around the sampler. The way in which each pattern fills its respective spot is distinctly German. An exceptional example that retains most of its original bright colors, this sampler joins the costume and textile arts department’s collection as one of only a handful of European embroidery samplers from the seventeenth century.
For centuries, embroidery samplers were used to teach girls and young women the needle skills they would need to perform domestic work, while simultaneously teaching them literacy. Many of the motifs and text passages included in the designs of samplers also reflect culturally and morally significant values and lessons that would have been instilled in their young makers. Although samplers were created to practice various embroidery stitches, they were also often cherished objects, kept by families for sentiment and as a way to track and exhibit a woman’s embroidery skill and knowledge.
By the eighteenth century, embroidery samplers were viewed as artworks unto themselves. Samplers are often signed and dated by their makers, which was uncommon among other forms of domestic textile arts. This example bears the initials of its maker and the year it was finished in the lower right corner, which is rare for such an early example.
- Title
- Two-Column Band Sampler
- Date
- 1685
- Object Type
- Textile
- Medium
- Linen plain weave with silk embroidery (buttonhole stitch, cross-stitch, featherstitch, French knots, satin stitch, and other stitches)
- Dimensions
- 22 x 9 3/8 in. (55.88 x 23.813 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of George and Marie Hecksher
- Accession Number
- 2023.23
