Catherine Rihl-1820
In the early 20th century, Henry Francis du Pont created a grand country place at Winterthur that today encompasses a 175-room house, a 60-acre naturalistic garden, and 1,000 acres of woodland and meadows. With an emphasis on both beauty and comfort,
H. F. du Pont furnished the rooms of his home with American antiques and other decorative and fine arts objects, representing the best in craftsmanship and style available to Americans between 1640 and 1860.
Mr. du Pont had a special love for textiles and needlework; as a result, he acquired more than 700 pieces of American needlework for what is now the Winterthur Museum collection. Since du Pont's death, the museum has added to the collection through gifts from generous donors and purchases such as the sampler wrought by Catherine Rihl. During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, girls were instructed in needlework skills so they would be more proficient as adults. Some were taught at home, but others were sent to schools for instruction by skilled needlewomen. One of the first works a girl created was a sampler to learn her stitches.
Catherine's sampler is typical of a group created in early 19th-century Philadelphia. Using polychrome silk thread on linen, young Catherine worked in queen's stitch, chain stitch, cross stitch and cross over one thread of linen. Her sampler notes, "done in the 12th year of her age Kensington May 9th 1820."
Size: 13.5†x 15†(34cm x 38cm)
Thread Count: 40 count (16 thr/cm) linen
Colour:
Recommended Level: Intermediate
Cost: cht.$42
Categories: North American / Mexico, Winterthur
ID: 352
All prices are in US Dollars.
