Young Man and Woman with Dog

Description:

After a young lady learned to embroider a sampler, she might attend a female academy to make a silk embroidered picture. This was a more challenging technique that became popular in the early 1800s. Subjects included classical, biblical, and historical scenes, as well as mourning pictures.

This rectangular embroidered picture portrays a young man and woman and a dog in a pastoral scene with a floral wreath border around all the edges. The man and woman are in Regency style clothing. The faces, dark curly hair, arms, and hands are painted, as is the sky background. The floral border is elaborate, with much detail. The glass mat, which has been removed, has a reverse one-inch band painted black with a 1/4" gold band around the edges. In the lower band is the name SOPHIA HARSEN. The ground is ivory sheer cotton fabric, sewn to a silk satin after it was embroidered. The thread is silk floss and chenille and the stitches are laid, straight, and satin

There is a Sophia Harsen born July 10, 1815, in New York City, New York. Further research is needed to find other silk embroidered pictures of this style worked with a provenance of New York City to substantiate this attribution.

Location: Currently not on view

See more items in: Home and Community Life: Textiles, Embroidered Pictures, Textiles

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift of Elizabeth G. Cooke estate

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1989.0343.01Catalog Number: 1989.0343.01Accession Number: 1989.0343

Object Name: embroidered picture

Physical Description: silk (overall material)chenille (overall material)cotton (overall material)silk (thread material)glass (mat material)Measurements: average spatial: 70.739 cm x 50.165 cm; 27 7/8 in x 19 3/4 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-33eb-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1066739

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