Sampler

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The term "spot sampler" has come to refer to compositions like this one in which the motifs are scattered in somewhat random fashion over the surface of the foundation fabric. These samplers are rarely signed or dated, and often their motifs are only partially worked, leading to the conclusion that this type of sampler was made as a personal stitch reference for its maker, and not for display, as signed schoolgirl samplers were. The geometric motifs on this sampler are the type that would have been used to decorate small purses, cushions, and other accessories. The fruits, flowers, and animals rendered in tent stitch are the type of motif that would have been worked in large quantities and then cut out and applied to another fabric background, such as a satin or velvet. They were then often outlined with silver or gold metal threads. The small floral motifs are often called "slips," a term that also describes cuttings from plants.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art