Embroidered sampler
ca. 1805
Medium
Silk on linen, embroidered
Dimensions
15 5/8 x 16 in. (39.7 x 40.6 cm)
Classification
Sampler
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Mabel Herbert Harper, 1957
Accession Number
57.122.551
Art Historical Context
Created around 1805 by Harriet F. Burr, embroidered sampler exemplifies the needlework traditions of early American girls, who crafted these pieces as both educational exercises and showcases of skill. Measuring 15⅝ × 16 inches, it features silk threads worked onto a linen ground, a common medium that allowed for vibrant colors and fine detail. Likely made by a young Harriet in her teens, the sampler would have included alphabets, numbers, moral verses, and decorative motifshallmarks of the form that prepared girls for homemaking in a young republic. Samplers like this one were more than craf...