Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Samplers 2

The following photo is of an open work Italian sampler pictured and described in Elisa Ricci's Ricami Italiani Antichi e Moderni (Le Monnier, 1925).


A 17th century sampler of 60 different motifs divided into three columns. All done in white on white, superby executed – perhaps the work of a professional embroiderer or teacher. Reticello, Punto Antico, Drawn Thread work. Elisa Ricci says that it is no longer a "page of notes" but a "page from a dictionary or manual." Indeed this is definitely a sampler one could use as a reference for many, many motifs and stitches.

What if it was someone's resumé? You'd hire them on the spot!

Rows of Four-Sided Stitch are used to divide the motifs and the sections (also as a unit of measure - it's much easier to count squares than individual ground threads!). Curl Stitch, Satin Stitch and Buttonhole Stitch in many of its variations.


Wouldn't it be lovely to study this one up close? Look at the texture!

For some excellent articles on samplers, go to Tuttoricamo and look under the 'History' heading.

5 comments:

  1. An amazing sampler and yes, I would love to study it up close! The work is so beautiful.

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  2. I wish I knew where it was now! The second photo is the only detail photo.

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  3. Hello Jeanine,
    Je travaille pour un magazine de broderie en France et j'aurais voulu avoir plus de précisions sur l'historique du Punto antico.
    Dans sa version moderne, doit-on employer tous les points de ce sampler ou uniquement ceux du centre ?
    Au plaisir de vous lire,
    Mylène

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  4. Mylène: there are several books on Punto Antico available (do a search of my blog) or you could contact the Associazione Il Punto Antico directly to see if they can help you:
    http://www.ilpuntoantico.it/associazione.html
    Good Luck!

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  5. This is my dream come true! Thank you so very much for sharing! Tessa

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