Object number2024.24.22
Sampler
Date1841
Artist
Currently Unidentified
CultureEnglish
MediumWool and silk threads on linen ground
DimensionsSight (wide rectangle): 26 3/4 x 29 3/4 in. (67.9 x 75.6 cm)
Framed (vintage frame): 35 3/4 x 38 x 2 in. (90.8 x 96.5 x 5.1 cm)
Framed (vintage frame): 35 3/4 x 38 x 2 in. (90.8 x 96.5 x 5.1 cm)
Credit LineGift from the collection of Linda Ford Wallace
On View
Not on viewPeriod19th c
Classification(s)
SignedLower left: Elizabeth Houlden
InscribedAlphabet / Like crowded forest trees we stand / And some are marked to fall / The ax will smite at God's command / And soon shall smite us all.
Elizabeth Houlden Her Work Done in THe Year of Our Lord 1841 Aged 13
ProvenanceLinda Ford Wallace CollectionDescriptionElizabeth Houlden's is one of a group of Yorkshire samplers whose grim verse belies the exuberance of its appearance. Worked in wool and silk on linen the symmetrical composition displays a landscape both naturalistic and fantastical - stags and does lying on a lawn in front of a feathery tree that is flanked by birds. Some of these features deriving perhaps from Berlin work patterns. A balanced arrangement of birds. butterflies, British lions, flower sprigs, baskets, topiary, over-sized strawberry plants and a formal strawberry border complete the composition.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge.
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