Soledad Villalobos, c.1840
Name/Title
Soledad Villalobos, c.1840Entry/Object ID
2002.1.1Tags
Mexican sampler, Aztec stitch, Colonial Mexico, Amiga schools, Embroidery, SamplerDescription
The sampler with stylized floral registers including green, blue, and pink tones and Aztec Stitch, unique to Mexican, with the inscription "Lo Hizo Soledad Villalobos:" antique ebonized wood frame; glassContext
Mexican samplers have great aesthetic appeal, and many include a stitch called, Aztec Stitch, which is usually considered unique to colonial Mexican samplers. Soledad placed the Aztec Stitch band in the upper right band of her sampler, just below her last name and the heart with an arrow through it, which is a motif found on many colonial Mexican samplers. Soledad also displays her technical needlework expertise in each band of her work. Mexican samplers are recognized for their characteristic and recognizable patterns and gained prominence in 1993 when the Textile Museum in Washington D.C> mounted an exhibition entitled, "Mexican Samplers: Patterns of Continuity and Change," which included samplers dating from 1784 through the second half of the 19th century. Soldedad's sampler is dated circa 1840, and was published in Samplers in the European Tradition, by Kathleen Staples and Margriet Hogue. It was observed that the "bands derive from patterns published in the 16th century German and Italian pattern books, notably, Peter Quentel, 1527, and Nicolo Zoppino, 1529." Ms. Staples and Mrs Hogue further noted that this sampler was "worked probably in urban academies or amiga schools rather than in the country...the range of subjects taught at these institutions varied widely; however, most curricula included religious instruction, reading, sewing, and several forms of embroidery, including sampler-making."Collection
ERS Sampler CollectionCategory
19th century