|
A European Spot Motif Sampler from the collection of the Shelburne Museum |
|
| The patterns embroidered on
this unusual sampler are characteristic of sampler
traditions from at least six different European countries.
Having shown the sampler to specialists in European sampler
work, they have speculated its origin could be Portuguese,
Italian, Spanish, French, German, British- even American
(although that is quite unlikely...and Scarlet's opinion is
that it is Italian). The motifs are really a complex mix of
cultures. The dogs, horses, hunters, the plants (flowers
trees) and pastoral vignettes (many with a strong feminist
emphasis: the woman plucking her lute under a tree,
the plough-woman behind her cow, the woman breast feeding her
baby beneath the leafy arbor), together with the costumes,
suggest an English origin. However, the random placement of
the motifs is more a Continental characteristic, as are many
of the patterns. including the elaborate lion, the ape, the
parrot, and the harlequin, none of which is typical of
traditional English (or American) sampler design. The
crucial pattern might be the altar/monstrance scene with the
candles at the top center, flanked by a priest and a mitered
bishop. It is possible that a Catholic girl with a French,
Italian and German background embroidered elements from all
sides of her ethnic heritage into her sampler. The piece is
executed entirely in cross stitch, over two threads of
linen, in a palette of 29 colors. |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
