Name/Title
Needlepoint Altar KneelerEntry/Object ID
L2023.6Description
Needlepoint kneeler of Eleanor Corliss Wandry.Context
St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 217 Houston Street, was founded in1860 and is rich in tradition and beauty. In 1974 two local women needlepointed altar kneelers and alter chair pads which are still in use today. Later church members needlepointed kneelers, like the one seen here, for general congregational use. This kneeler features a Budded Cross which has three circles or discs at the end of each arm. In Christianity, this represents the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is sometimes known as the Apostles Cross representing the twelve Apostles of Christ. The needlepoint work was done by Eleanor Corliss Wandry in honor of "E.G.C." There were two people in the Corliss family with the initials E.G.C., the first was Wandry's great grandfather Elbridge G. Corliss (1821-1856) who came to Wisconsin in 1845 and farmed just outside of Ripon. Wandry's father was also named Elbridge Gary Corliss (1876-1903) who died when she was an infant. He worked at Horner & Middleton which was a lumber company in Ripon and was a member of St. Peter's church.
Needlepoint is a type of embroidery that is done with a needle over the mesh of a canvas foundation. Needlepoint as we know it today originated in the 17th century, however it can be traced to the ancient Egyptians, who used small slanted sticthes to sew up their canvas tents.Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
KneelerNomenclature Sub-Class
Religious ObjectsNomenclature Class
Ceremonial ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication Objects