Current Location: In storage
Maker(s)
Production:
Rawlins, Elizabeth
Entities
Categories
Description
Bordered sampler worked in polychrome silks containing alphabets, numerals, verses, the Lord's Prayer, and some small bird and flower motifs.
Wool bordered sampler embroidered with polychrome silks in satin, cross, marking cross, eyelet, stem, split and chain stitch. Two edges are hemmed and there is a selvedge with double blue lines at the top and bottom. The sampler is almost square and is framed by a densely worked border of a highly stylized flower-head and leaf pattern. The main pattern is organised in horizontal bands of mostly worked inscriptions and a few pictorial patterns of small stylized flowers and birds. From top to bottom the inscriptions consist of three alphabets, the verse 'Content is the chiefest treasure of the mind and happy those so sure a blessing find it is that gives reail worth to all we have without content mankind is a general slave', followed by the Lord's Prayer, and the verse 'Fancy thou busy offspring of the mind thou roving rainging rambler unconfined restless thy self wont let poor me alone thou something nothing anything in one'. The bottom band contains 'Elizabeth Rawlins her work finished May ye 22 1735'.
Legal notes
Lady St John Hope Bequest
Measurements and weight
Length: 30 cm
Width: 27 cm
Acquisition and important dates
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed
(1952-10-23)
by
Hope, St John, Lady
Dating
18th Century
Production date:
AD 1735
Materials used in production
blue, green, yellow, pink, white
Silk
Wool
Techniques used in production
Weaving
: Wool bordered sampler embroidered with polychrome silks in satin, cross, marking cross, eyelet, stem, split and chain stitch. Two edges are hemmed and there is a selvedge with double blue lines at the top and bottom.
Embroidering
References and bibliographic entries
Related exhibitions
Identification numbers
Accession number: T.9-1952
Primary reference Number: 110908
Stable URI
Audit data
Created: Saturday 6 August 2011
Updated: Wednesday 2 July 2025
Last processed: Wednesday 2 July 2025
Associated departments & institutions
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
