Below is an up-close picture of part of the Egyptian sampler dated from circa 14th-16th
century that is displayed in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. To view the whole sampler, please visit http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O69669/sampler-unknown/
The first
wife of Henry VIII of England, Catherine of Aragon, helped to make blackwork
embroidery popular in England. Prior to her marriage, she was born and raised
in Spain. Until the late 15th century, Spain had been under Moorish rule
when Catherine’s parents, Ferdinand and Isabella, evicted the Moors. However,
the Moors had left behind their geometrical designs, which included the
embroidery that later became known as blackwork.
Knowing of
the influence that the Moors had left on Spain, I went in search of other
countries that they may have influenced during this time period. This is how I
came across this sampler.
Today I
decided to recreate my interpretation of what looks like a cat wearing a crown
on this sampler. Some of the threads are visibly missing. However, thanks to
how blackwork works, we can essentially connect the dots to recreate the
original pattern. After recreating the original pattern, I decided that I
wanted to change it a bit to give it more of a cat-like body. This is for my
own personal preference. Please feel free to follow the original pattern if you
would prefer to be more historically accurate in your embroidery.
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