Sampler (Mexico), 19th century (CH 18563983)
Summary
Sampler is divided into compartments with vases, birds, and flowers. Those compartments with text are composed in the form of a rebus or pictogram. Sampler is edged with tatting. Contains the following text in Spanish:
Cuando se (corona) un gusto
Por dos (corazónes) fieles
Una (llave) los maneja
Y una (flecha) los sostiene
En este (urna) yace
Un (corazón) que ha sufrido
De amor lo (cadena) dura
Y la (flecha) del olbido
Vivimos felices
Amor nos une
Para Matilde Thompson
English translation:
When a desire is (crowned)
By two faithful (hearts)
A (key) controls them
And an (arrow) sustains them
In this (urn) rests
A (heart) that has suffered
From love's cruel (chains)
And the (arrow) of forgetfulness
We live happily
Love unites us
For Matilde Thompson
The English word 'sampler' derives from the Latin 'exemplum', or the old French term 'essamplaire', meaning 'an example'. Before the introduction of printed designs, embroiderers and lacemakers needed a way to record and reference different designs, stitches and effects. The answer was to create a sampler – a personal reference work featuring patterns and elements that the owner may have learned or copied from others, to recreate again in new pieces. Such stitch and pattern collections may have been assembled in a number of cultures where decorative needlework was widely practised. Early examples rarely survive, but the quality of the oldest surviving samplers suggests they were made by experienced hands, as well as children, (in many cultures learning needlework was an important part of a young girl's education). The earliest in our collection were found in Egyptian burial grounds, and probably date from the 14th or 15th centuries.
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