Mourning Needlework, 1805-1810
Grief, Sentiment, Remembrance
Mourning scenes were popular in the arts at the turn of the nineteenth century. Schoolgirls choosing these projects might have been inspired by sincere grief for lost relations or might simply have liked the popular sentimental imagery.
Judith Peterson, the probable maker of this scene, never knew her brother John commemorated here. No other record exists for either Sally, another sibling, or for Eliza Perry—possibly Judith’s granddaughter. This textile becomes the only known testimony to their lives.
Silk embroidery with watercolor background; framed with reverse painting on glass. Gift of Helen Perry Viertheer 7141