Long Sampler (1780): Art, History and Details

Long Sampler (1780) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Samplers were created as a mark of achievement in needlework by young ladies as they progressed in their education. Because they display levels of skill and technique, samplers often include figurative or scenic decoration along with the alphabet and various horizontal and vertical patterns that could serve as guides for future stitching. Most samplers reveal the pride of a young lady as she showed off her considerable accomplishment in sewing and were treasured from generation to generation.

Object facts

• Title: Long Sampler
• Date: 1780
• Culture: Germany, late 18th century
• Type: Sampler
• Technique: embroidery; silk on linen
• Dimensions: Overall: 101.6 x 30.5 cm (40 x 12 in.)
• Collection: Textiles
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1942.500

A detail from the museum

This unusually long sampler depicts scenes from the biblical Old Testament, including Eve tempting Adam with an apple.

Collection credit

The Mary Pack McNairy Collection, Gift of Gladys McNairy White and Elisabeth McNairy Monroe in memory of their mother

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.