by Alden O'Brien
Though our collections are rich in artifacts from the East Coast and Anglo-American families, the DAR Museum strives to collect objects that reflect the wonderful variety of the American experience. At the time that this stunning sampler was made, between 1810–1820 near present-day Monterey, Calif., most of the central and western states were territories of Spain, inhabited largely by indigenous peoples and Spanish-speaking colonists.
This vivid design, featuring bold zigzags and dainty floral vines stitched in bright reds, greens and blues, represents a blend of traditional Mexican and Spanish sampler making. Unlike American samplers based on English traditions, Mexican samplers did not include alphabets and were not arranged on lines inside a decorative border. Instead, they had a series of rectangular areas filled with a wide variety of needlework styles, both white-on-white drawn work and colorful embroidery, all of which their makers might use later in life to recreate decorative home textiles