Embroidered Sampler

Embroidered Sampler

Sophia Dyer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portland, Maine schoolgirls produced a distinctive group of genealogical samplers. Following a prescribed format, these samplers list the birth and marriage dates of the parents; and the name and birth date of each of their children. Also characteristic are townscapes with white clapboard Federal houses and elegant borders of roses, rosebuds and leafy vines.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.