

Embroidered sampler, 1844
Mariah Boil (American, born 1832)
Pleasant Hill, Kentucky
Silk and cotton thread on linen/cotton, embroidered
Mariah Boil (American, born 1832)
Pleasant Hill, Kentucky
Silk and cotton thread on linen/cotton, embroidered
13 x 11 3/4 in. (33 x 29.8 cm)
Purchase, Edward J. Scheider and David S. and Elizabeth W. Quackenbush Gifts, 2008 (2008.453)
Few samplers were made in Shaker communities. This example is a sweet and simple piece of work, finely made and laid out in a clear composition. It illustrates the well-known Shaker mission to produce architecture and decorative arts that were functional but beautiful and that depended on the bare essentials of form for their decorative appeal.







