Plenty

Object Details

date made
1802
maker
Baxter, Sally
Description
After a young lady learned to embroider a sampler, she might attend a female academy to make a silk embroidered picture. This was a more challenging technique that became popular in the early 1800s. Subjects included classical, biblical, and historical scenes, as well as mourning pictures.
This rectangular piece features an oval picture entitled, "Plenty." A female figure, dressed in a Federal period gown, carries an upright cornucopia filled with flowers, cradled in her left arm and hand. Her right hand displays a bouquet of flowers. A reverse-painted black glass mat displays the word "Plenty” in a scroll at the bottom. In another scroll are the words "Done by Sally Baxter, Jan 1, 1802." The picture is worked on an ivory silk satin ground fabric with silk thread. The stitches used are encroaching satin, straight, French knots, laid, back, and split.
A cornucopia is defined as a horn of plenty and thus the title “Plenty.”
Sally Baxter was born March 26, 1789, to Taylor and Sarah Crowell Baxter of Yarmouth, Massachusetts. She married Obadiah Abbey on February 27, 1808. He died in 1822 and she died on February 5, 1872.
Location
Currently not on view
place made
United States: Massachusetts, Yarmouth
See more items in
Home and Community Life: Textiles
Embroidered Pictures
Textiles
Credit Line
Gift of Miss Elsie Quinby
Data Source
National Museum of American History
ID Number
TE.E392913
catalog number
E392913
accession number
214358
Object Name
silk picture
Physical Description
silk (ground material)
silk (thread material)
Measurements
overall: 19 in x 10 in; 48.26 cm x 25.4 cm
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-fb04-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
Record ID
nmah_1096468