Sampler made at a charity school

Sampler made at a charity school

L. Matthews

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The earliest British charity schools for poor and orphaned children were founded around the country by local gentry to support and educate children whose families lived in the vicinity. In the eighteenth century, the number of institutions increased significantly. Arguably the most famous of these is the Foundling Hospital in London established by Thomas Coram in 1741; the charity still exists today as the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. This sampler was probably made to be included in a book of stitching exercises.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sampler made at a charity schoolSampler made at a charity schoolSampler made at a charity schoolSampler made at a charity schoolSampler made at a charity school

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.