Sampler (Spot motif sampler)

Description

This is a linen spot motif sampler worked with silk threads in 1802 by Ruth Bowers who attended the Southern Boarding School in Duck Creek (now Smyrna), Delaware. The motifs can be found on English Quaker samplers and were popular in America, especially throughout the Delaware Valley and as far south as Virginia. This particular sampler with its bands of motifs, "Emblem of Love" medallion, and signature, follows late 18th-century Quaker needlework traditions, initially established at Ackworth in England. Ruth was 18 years old when she completed this sampler. The inscription reads: "Southern B [Boarding] School 1802 / E Y / Ruth Bowers s Work"