Sampler, English Whitework
Mary Quelch (fl.1609)
Category
Textiles
Date
1609
Materials
Textile
Measurements
430 x 150 mm
Order this imageCollection
Montacute House, Somerset
NT 597666
Summary
Sampler, dated 1609, Mary Quelch. Green parchment scored into squares, with white linen thread couched down over the resulting grid. About three-quarters of the squares have been filled with detached needlemade fillings which include hollie stitch. Four squares worked as one, in hollie stitch, with the inscription 'Mary Quelch 1609' The lower four rows of squares have already been detached from the parchment as the whole would have been once completed. This is the earliest known dated example of an English whitework sampler. Photo copyright NTPL/Richard Pike
Provenance
The collection of Dr Douglas Goodhart.
Makers and roles
Mary Quelch (fl.1609), embroiderer