MTAB 1845

Completed or uncompleted? Both!

With plenty of love and delight, MT (probably "Mette") started to stitch her fine sampler with red silk on even-woven linen: the collection of traditional motifs she could use for her own household and her clothes in later years! In those days, there were no needlework magazines or "freebees" available at any time.

After she had worked half of the sampler, time or love passed off, and yet she continued to collect quarters of rosettes and half trees! She certainly had their completion in mind because she executed the vertical and horizontal stitches as "placeholders" to mark the next motif. She finished her sampler in the bottom right corner – with angel motifs – as seen in many traditional Vierlande samplers of this period (in many cultures, angels are helpers, intercessors and messengers from God.).

This kind of sampler from the Vierlande area did no longer come up after 1850!

In 12th century already, Dutch settlers arrived in the Elbe marshes. They were welcome because they knew a great deal about dikes and drainage techniques. They should cultivate the wet islands. They received their own jurisdiction and were allowed to bring along their "grass roots" church constitution.

So the Vierlande region came into existence between 1150 and 1300.

The immigrants brought their culture with them.

Up to the 19th century, the Dutch influence is clearly evident – even in their samplers (see in particular "kraaienboompje" = trees of crows in Dutch samplers from the 17th century with the Tree of Life motifs in the Vierlande samplers).

I came across this sampler in the Museum of Bergedorf and the Vierlande in Hamburg, the inventory number is 1992/45. The original is 39 cm wide and 46.5 cm high.

It was a pleasure being accompanied at counting by Bhooma Aravamudan. Thank you so much!