Embroidered Pictures

Embroidered image of Roman lady, with her three children, is depicted with a seated Roman matron holding a box of jewels

In the early 1800s, silk-embroidered pictures became a popular form of needlework in America, and young women could learn this challenging needlework technique at specialized academies. (In this case, needlework can be defined as embellishing cloth with designs stitched with a needle and thread.) In addition to patriotic scenes, subjects included classical, biblical, historical, and the ever-popular mourning pictures.

The death of George Washington gave impetus to a new fad, the mourning picture. It included an assortment of plinth, urn, mourners, and willow trees in a garden setting. They often show relatives or friends grieving before a monument dedicated to a lost loved one.

Canvas work, which today is known as needlepoint, was a form of embroidery that was also used to create pictures. It was done by young women in specialized academies as well as by adults. The earliest piece in the Textile Collection was done by Mary Williams in 1744 and the latest in 1935 by Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt II.

There are approximately 50 embroidered pictures in the Textile Collection.

Search term: *:* Set Name: Embroidered Pictures Resource Type: canvas work Clear All

Faith, Hope, & Charity

By the 1840s a new technique [in the field] of needlepoint known as Berlin wool work was the rage. It arose in Germany at the beginning of the 19th century. New dyes became available and brightly colored wools could be worked in tent stitch on canvas.
Description
By the 1840s a new technique [in the field] of needlepoint known as Berlin wool work was the rage. It arose in Germany at the beginning of the 19th century. New dyes became available and brightly colored wools could be worked in tent stitch on canvas. The patterns were painted by hand on “point paper,” which today would be called graph paper. Some of the patterns were copies of famous paintings.
This rectangular Berlin wool work piece depicts Faith, Hope, and Charity. The three large seated female figures in the center of the work. The one on the left is holding a babe, the one in the center holds a chalice and a book, and the one on the right holds a flower. Three small children are in the center foreground, one holding a parasol and another with a dog. At the bottom is stitched: “EMMA FRANCES FEATHER – 1855.” It is embroidered on cotton canvas that has a warp of 28/in and weft of 24/in. The thread is worsted wool and the stitches are cross and half cross.
Faith, Hope, and Charity are three theological virtues. The woman on the left represents Charity, the woman in the center, Faith, and the woman on the right, Hope. The opening flower she is holding is a symbol for hope. The more traditional symbol for hope is an anchor.
Emma Frances Feather was born on June 27, 1840, in Reading, Pennsylvania, to James Augustus and Mary Ann Fisher Feather. She married Levi G. Coleman on February 23, 1897. She died January 31, 1906. In the Reading, Pennsylvania, directories, she is listed as a vestmaker and Levi is listed as a merchant tailor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855
maker
Feather, Emma Frances
ID Number
TE.T15608
catalog number
T15608
accession number
298622

The Queen of Sheba Admiring the Wisdom of Solomon

Canvas work, now called needlepoint, was also taught in schools or learned at home.
Description
Canvas work, now called needlepoint, was also taught in schools or learned at home. Mary comes from a Connecticut family that has many surviving pieces of needlework, indicating she may have stitched this piece at home with help from a relative.
This canvas work picture includes five houses and thirty-eight people, using wool and metallic embroidery threads. On the bottom is the inscription, "THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ADMIRING THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON." Solomon and Sheba are centered under a canopied tent decorated with metal threads. At the center along the top edge is the inscription "MARY WILLIAMS 1744," the name worked in metal thread. Although the primary subject is biblical, all the figures are dressed in 18th-century clothing. All of the houses have shingled roofs, pediment windows, and doors on their lower stories.
The biblical story is found in I Kings 10. The Queen of Sheba heard that Solomon, King of Israel, was rich, wise, and religious. She came to Jerusalem to test him with some very hard questions. King Solomon answered all her questions and when she saw his palace and his food, etc. she said “not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.” I Kings 10:7.
Mary Williams was born to Rev. Solomon and Mary Porter Williams on February 11, 1733, in Lebanon, Connecticut. She married Richard Salter on June 17, 1767, as his second wife. They had three children, Abigail, who died May 31, 1768, age 3 days; a second daughter, also named Abigail, who died May 18, 1770, age 1 mo.; and Elizabeth, who died July 21, 1771, age 3 wks. Mary died November 16, 1793, in Mansfield, Connecticut.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1744
maker
Williams, Mary
ID Number
TE.E388179
catalog number
E388179
accession number
182022

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