Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
Having already worked an attractive sampler, Ann Matilda Nye went on to stitch two similar but not identical mourning embroideries in honor of her Cutts grandparents, Thomas and Elizabeth, whose initials appear on the urns. The design of these two pieces is simple compared to the elaborate mourning embroideries from Portland and other urban areas made during the Federal era, making it more likely that they were stitched in a less sophisticated location, perhaps in Saco, where Ann grew up. The Nye family seems to never have been wealthy, and throughout the nineteenth century their financial situation steadily worsened, perhaps making an out-of-town education unavailable for the nine Nye children.Label Type
Object LabelLabel
Ann Matilda Nye (1808–1891)
Silk mourning embroideries, circa 1821
Probably worked in Saco, Maine (school unknown)
Silk and metallic thread on silk
Satin, outline, and straight stitches
Collection of the Dyer Library and Saco Museum