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Nabby Martin

Sampler

Description

Maker

Nabby Martin (American, 1775-1864)

Title

Sampler

Year

1786

Medium

  • Linen plain weave with silk and metallic-wrapped yarn embroidery

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Linen plain weave with silk and metallic-wrapped yarn embroidery

Materials

linen, silk

Geography

Place Made: Providence; Place Made: Rhode Island

Dimensions

38.1 x 27.3 cm (15 x 10 3/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

To Colleges and Schools ye Youths Repair. Improve each precious Moment while you're there; Let Virtue be/A Guide to thee.Signature:NABBY/MAR/TIN'S/WORK 1786; Inscription:MAR--1786

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

17.361

Type

  • Textiles

Projects & Publications

Publications

  • Books

A Handbook of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design

  • Books

A World of Costume and Textiles: A Handbook of the Collection

  • Books

Selected Works

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Making It In America
Oct 11, 2013 – Feb 09, 2014

Label copy

Made with painstaking attention to detail, an embroidered sampler demonstrated a young girl’s talent in needleworking and was regarded as a commendable accomplishment in 18th-century America. Beginning around 1785, students could hone their stitching skills at the Mary Balch School in Providence, Rhode Island, where a recognizable local style developed.

This richly rendered sampler by 11-year-old Nabby Martin exemplifies the school’s characteristic composition of verses, the alphabet, floral motifs, animals, and fashionable figures amidst idealistic settings. It also depicts important buildings in Providence, including the Old State House and the College Edifice, Brown University’s first and oldest building, now known as University Hall.

These Golden Arts
Needlework by Women, 1688-1888
Jun 18, 1993 – Aug 14, 1993
Picturing Providence 1790-1930
Jul 17, 1992 – Aug 29, 1992

Label copy

This unusually complex sampler was stitched by an eleven year old girl while she was a student at Mary Balch's school in Providence. Among the verses and overall floral design, the young student included images of two Providence buildings important during the American Revolution. At the top, the College Edifice (now University Hall) at Brown University served as a barracks and a hospital for American and French troops, while the Old State House, shown below, was the site of Rhode Island's declaration of independence from England.

A World of Costume and Textiles
"Tapestries through the Ages"
Sep 22, 1989 – Nov 12, 1989
Needlework
Feb 19, 1982 – Apr 25, 1982

Use & Feedback

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Nabby Martin (American, 1775-1864)
Sampler, 1786
Linen plain weave with silk and metallic-wrapped yarn embroidery
38.1 x 27.3 cm (15 x 10 3/4 inches)
Museum Appropriation Fund 17.361

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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