Sampler
Object name
Maker
Date made
1853
Place made
Description
Sampler made by 12-year-old Mary Elizabeth Swale in 1853.
Content description
Square-shaped sampler worked by 12-year-old Mary Elizabeth Swale in 1853 using polychrome wool threads on unbleached linen. Embroidered entirely in cross stitch, the framed work offers a great variation of motifs enclosed within a floral border and below a short line of text which reads:
'Mary Elizabeth Swale Aged 12 in the year 1853
When I am dead and in my grave this piece of work
my friends shall have'.
This statement is an iteration of a traditional sampler verse. The letter 'e' in 'dead' is upside down. The sampler is bordered on all four sides by a flowers growing from vines. Below the text are motifs including vases with flowers, a butterfly, unidentifiable birds, deer, a heart, a cross, and a royal coat of arms. Symbols of resurrection, spring, and eternal life are most certainly present in this lively mingling of colourful forms, seen in the blooming flowers, the peacocks and other wildlife, the strand of wheat, the fleur-de-lis, and the acorns. Three mysterious figures inhabit the bottom row of the sampler; a red-haired man in a green coat that resembles livery, a lady with a red-lined cloak holding a bird, and a man with a pipe who wears a hat. It is unclear if these figures are meant to represent specific individuals or types of people.
In the 19th century, the sampler had developed into a classroom task, an educational tool for girls from all social backgrounds. Mary Elizabeth Swale may have been born in approximately 1841 and married Joseph Stead, a farmer, in Otley, Yorkshire on 15 November 1863. If this is the correct Mary Elizabeth Swale, she was born in July or September 1841 in Otley to Ann and Ward Swale.
'Mary Elizabeth Swale Aged 12 in the year 1853
When I am dead and in my grave this piece of work
my friends shall have'.
This statement is an iteration of a traditional sampler verse. The letter 'e' in 'dead' is upside down. The sampler is bordered on all four sides by a flowers growing from vines. Below the text are motifs including vases with flowers, a butterfly, unidentifiable birds, deer, a heart, a cross, and a royal coat of arms. Symbols of resurrection, spring, and eternal life are most certainly present in this lively mingling of colourful forms, seen in the blooming flowers, the peacocks and other wildlife, the strand of wheat, the fleur-de-lis, and the acorns. Three mysterious figures inhabit the bottom row of the sampler; a red-haired man in a green coat that resembles livery, a lady with a red-lined cloak holding a bird, and a man with a pipe who wears a hat. It is unclear if these figures are meant to represent specific individuals or types of people.
In the 19th century, the sampler had developed into a classroom task, an educational tool for girls from all social backgrounds. Mary Elizabeth Swale may have been born in approximately 1841 and married Joseph Stead, a farmer, in Otley, Yorkshire on 15 November 1863. If this is the correct Mary Elizabeth Swale, she was born in July or September 1841 in Otley to Ann and Ward Swale.
Materials
Stitches
Techniques
Motifs
Catalogue number
RSN.2263
© Royal School of Needlework