Sampler of woollen canvas embroidered with silks, made by Elizabeth Brain, England, 1785

Sampler made of woollen canvas embroidered with coloured silks, predominantly brown and green but with some pink, blue, cream and yellow: chain, cross, stem, long and short, satin, over-cast and eyelet stitches. The lower half of the sampler contains a picture of a house surrounded by trees amongst which are a deer and a fox. In front is a curving path beside a pond. In the upper half, sprays of flowers and decorative lines frame three sets of alphabets (one in capitals and two in lower-case letters) and a row of numerals up to sixteen. Within a flowery cartouche supported by birds is the inscription: 'In Conversation speak with ease Shun Barbarous words as Rocks in seas. Elizabeth Brain: 1785.' The selvedges of the canvas are visible along the upper and lower edges, and the blue outlines over which the embroidery is worked can be seen in places.

Bequeathed by Miss K. M. Boden

The sampler was embroidered by an ancestor of the donor.

The earliest samplers were reference works for embroiderers. They showed 'samples' of patterns and stitches and recorded how to achieve particular effects. In Europe in the 17th century samplers provided instruction and practice for girls learning needlework.

Embroiderers made more and more use of picture decoration. By about 1750, the house and garden had become, and remained, a favourite choice of subject. Here the needleworker has combined it with alphabets and a moral verse as well as her name and the date it was completed.

T.750-1974