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Nabby Martin

Sampler, 1786

Description

Maker

Title

Sampler

Year

1786

Medium

Linen plain weave with silk and metallic-wrapped yarn embroidery

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Techniques

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

Place

Providence; Rhode Island

Type

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

17.361

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Making It In America

October 11, 2013 - February 9, 2014

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.

Picturing Providence 1790-1930

July 17 - August 29, 1992

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.

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 (CC0 1.0). This object is Sampler with the accession number of 17.361. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.