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拍品專文
Remarkable in its apparently unique composition, this canvas work chimney piece is a rare and exuberant survival of colonial needlework in its most impressive form. Laid out in the traditional tripartite format, Adam and Eve are presented first and foremost at the moment of Man’s fall, with an amorous couple and solitary figure flanking and a menagerie of animals populating the scene throughout. This canvas work was made to be conspicuously hung over the fireplace, taking pride of place in a family’s home and demonstrating the culmination of the maker's training, representing her entrée into adulthood.
Worked in both wool and silk, the present lot was most likely made in Salem, based on the long uncouched one-sided satin stitches known as “New England economy” stitches because the thread is not carried along the back, thus saving the costly material. This unusual technique was first introduced circa 1740, continued until the turn of the century and is unique to Salem and nearby locals (fig. 1) (for more on Salem needlework, see Betty Ring, Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850, vol. I (New York, 1993), pp. 100-108).
The stitcher of this canvas work in all likelihood was instructed at home, where inspiration for design would have had to come from what was available in the household, such as the family bible. The composition of the figures at the bottom right of this chimney piece is remarkably similar to that seen on the frontispiece engraved by Francis Shallus for the bible printed by Jacob Berriman in 1796 (fig. 2), which in all likelihood replicated an earlier image. Other compositions of early New England needleworks were based on engraved print sources and pattern books brought over from London such as the popular hunting scenes of John Wootton (1678-1765). Alternatively, the designs could have been drawn by the headmistress of one of the many embroidery schools populating Boston and the surrounding area. One of the best of these schools was run by Mrs. Susannah Condy (1686-1747), who advertised in the Boston Evening Post in March of 1742: “She draws Patterns of all sorts, especially Pocket Books, House-wives, Screens, Pictures, Chimney Pieces, Escrutoires, etc. for Tent Stitch in a plainer Manner and cheaper than those which come from London.” (Nancy Graves Cabot, “Engravings and Embroideries: The Sources of Some Designs in the Fishing Lady Pictures,” The Magazine Antiques (December 1941), p. 368).
Needleworks were a necessary part of the education of young girls from wealthy colonial families and were instructive on many levels. They allowed young girls to practice the variety of stitches necessary to make the clothing, coverlets and cushion covers required in a prosperous household. Some subject matters were didactic, with scenes chosen to illustrate valued virtues including industry and obedience to God and family. Others, such as the present example likely produced in the fanatically religious town of Salem, served as a warning and reminder of the innate sinfulness of man.
Worked in both wool and silk, the present lot was most likely made in Salem, based on the long uncouched one-sided satin stitches known as “New England economy” stitches because the thread is not carried along the back, thus saving the costly material. This unusual technique was first introduced circa 1740, continued until the turn of the century and is unique to Salem and nearby locals (fig. 1) (for more on Salem needlework, see Betty Ring, Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850, vol. I (New York, 1993), pp. 100-108).
The stitcher of this canvas work in all likelihood was instructed at home, where inspiration for design would have had to come from what was available in the household, such as the family bible. The composition of the figures at the bottom right of this chimney piece is remarkably similar to that seen on the frontispiece engraved by Francis Shallus for the bible printed by Jacob Berriman in 1796 (fig. 2), which in all likelihood replicated an earlier image. Other compositions of early New England needleworks were based on engraved print sources and pattern books brought over from London such as the popular hunting scenes of John Wootton (1678-1765). Alternatively, the designs could have been drawn by the headmistress of one of the many embroidery schools populating Boston and the surrounding area. One of the best of these schools was run by Mrs. Susannah Condy (1686-1747), who advertised in the Boston Evening Post in March of 1742: “She draws Patterns of all sorts, especially Pocket Books, House-wives, Screens, Pictures, Chimney Pieces, Escrutoires, etc. for Tent Stitch in a plainer Manner and cheaper than those which come from London.” (Nancy Graves Cabot, “Engravings and Embroideries: The Sources of Some Designs in the Fishing Lady Pictures,” The Magazine Antiques (December 1941), p. 368).
Needleworks were a necessary part of the education of young girls from wealthy colonial families and were instructive on many levels. They allowed young girls to practice the variety of stitches necessary to make the clothing, coverlets and cushion covers required in a prosperous household. Some subject matters were didactic, with scenes chosen to illustrate valued virtues including industry and obedience to God and family. Others, such as the present example likely produced in the fanatically religious town of Salem, served as a warning and reminder of the innate sinfulness of man.