Sampler

Maker Elizabeth Cooper

Period1820

MediumPlied silk thread on linen

Dimensions16.5 × 14.5 in. (41.9 × 36.8 cm)

SignedThe sampler is signed and dated "Elizabeth Coopers work made in / the 12th year of her age 1820."

ClassificationsNeedlework

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Julia Hartshorne Trask, 1946

Object number2084.27

DescriptionA rectangular sampler of open weave, roughly spun linen worked with plied silk threads. Stitches include cross, Algerian eyelet, French knot, and Queen in black, brown, pale russet, medium green, light blue-green, medium blue, rose, pale pink, and off white. The upper two-thirds of the sampler feature eight rows of alphabets. A half-inch upper case alphabet runs on the first line, from A through U. On the second line, letters V through Z are centered, flanked by numerals 1 through 7 on the left and 8 through 12 on the right. On the third line, a half-inch lower case alphabet runs from a through z. The next three lines are comprised of a large one-inch upper case alphabet, from A to K, L to T, then U to Z. Letters U to Z are centered on their line, flanked on either side by individual motifs including a Queen stitch berry on the left and a small floral bud on the right. The seventh and eighth lines include a 3/4 inch upper case alphabet, from A to M and N to W. Each line is separated by narrow horizontal bands in a variety of stitches. The bottom third of the sampler contains a four line verse reading "Sweet is the scene when virtue dies / When sinks a righteous soul to rest / How mildly beams the closing eye / How gently heaves the expiring breast." Below is the inscription "Elizabeth Cooper's work made in / the 12th year of her age 1820." A small satin-stitched sawtooth band runs beneath the inscription line. Single motifs are arranged along the bottom of the sampler. To the left is a vining tendril, a tiny black dog with a white collar, and a nodding floral bud. In the center is a stylized floral blossom flanked on either side by large single strawberries. On the right is a large grapevine with four bunches of deep blue grapes. A strawberry vine repeat band is worked along the left, top, and right sides, ending at the bottom line of the sampler's alphabet rows. A small half-inch length of single cross stitches is visible at the extreme lower right edge of the sampler.
Curatorial RemarksAlthough sampler maker Elizabeth Cooper has not been identified, this needlework piece is most likely of American origin, probably from the Northeastern United States. The linen on which the sampler is stitched is relatively crude, with noticeable slubs in the linen threads. Elizabeth's decorative motifs are all large and relatively freeform, save for the tiny dog in the lower left corner. The large alphabet runs and the overall sampler layout also suggest an American origin. For her sampler, Elizabeth Cooper, most likely under her teacher's guidance, chose to include a verse beginning "Sweet is the scene when virtue dies." The verse includes the first four lines from a poem published by Anna Laetitia Aikin Barbauld (1743 - 1825). It appeared in her poetry collection entitled "Leisure Hour Improved," published in 1809. Born in Leicestershire, England, Barbauld was a poet, essayist, literary critic, and author of children's literature, and was highy acclaimed during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. She published an essay criticizing England's part in the Napoleonic Wars in 1812. The resulting brutal criticism of her work caused her great shock, and she never published again. "Sweet is the Scene" appeared in print on both sides of the Atlantic, and was popular as a tombstone inscription in the Northeastern United States during the 1840s and 1850s. Elizabeth Cooper may not have entirely finished her sampler. A small half-inch line of single cross stitching is visible at the lower right corner of the linen, indicating that Elizabeth may have planned to include a narrow border along the bottom and lower sides of her needlework.NotesThe name Elizabeth Cooper is found frequently in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Born about 1808, there are numerous candidates on both sides of the Atlantic who might have worked this sampler. Its workmanship, strawberry vine border, and overall design suggest an American origin.

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