A NEEDLEWORK 'SPOT MOTIF' SAMPLER, ENGLISH, 17TH CENTURY

Probably Rose Berkeley (1861-1922)

Samplers are mentioned in inventories prior to 1650, but few examples remain from that period, and it was in the 17th century that they became especially popular and expertly worked, and importantly survived, as many were produced as part of a girls education and training of the skills needed. Spot motifs are individual motifs, such as flowers, insects, animals and figures, worked on a panel of linen or canvas, and often cut out and applied to another material. The charm of the spot motif samplers is that they show a variety of motifs, and techniques, and are usually unique combinations on the panel, with some motifs used being inspired by those in pattern books, such as Richard Shorleyker's, A Schole House for the Needle, 1631. A European tradition established in the late 16th century, with sources such as Gerard de Jode, Thesaurus Sacrarum Historiarum Beteris Testamententi, Antwerp, 1585.