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Collections

Joaquina
Sampler (Dechado)circa 1785

Not on view
Embroidered textile sampler on cream ground with figurative motifs — animals, birds, figures, flowering vines — in the upper portion and a grid of geometric stitch-pattern panels below, worked in multicolored threads
Embroidered sampler on linen ground displaying a grid of varied stitch samples in red, blue, yellow, green, and cream threads, with a section of drawn-thread cutwork at left bordered by red and blue crochet or needle lace edging, and a red buttonhole-stitch border at right.
Embroidered textile on cream linen with polychrome silk thread; central figure of a woman in a wide, layered skirt with blue trim and outstretched arms, flanked by a smaller figure in striped dress, a yellow-and-black striped bird, and winding floral stems with red, blue, and yellow blooms; cursive Latin-script inscription in blue thread at center left; red whipstitch border at right edge.
Embroidered textile panel on linen, featuring a central circular medallion with a crowned figure in blue robes amid clouds and stars, surrounded by scrolling green vines and blue and cream flowers. Winged cherub heads appear at upper corners; yellow and black birds flank the sides. A Latin-script inscription in embroidered and inked text appears at the bottom center.
Artist or Maker
Joaquina
Title
Sampler (Dechado)
Place Made
Mexico
Date Made
circa 1785
Medium
Linen plain weave with silk and metallic-thread embroidery, drawn work, needle lace, and metal sequins
Dimensions
40 7/8 × 20 1/4 in. (103.8 × 51.4 cm)
Credit Line
Costume Council Fund
Accession Number
M.82.105.1
Classification
Textiles
Collecting Area
Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes

Elaborate embroidered panels such as this, known as samplers, were made by young girls as a compendium of needlework. By the sixteenth century, the tradition was firmly established in Europe. This is one of the two earliest known Mexican samplers. The inclusion of a roundel with the Immaculate Conception suggests it was made in a convent school. It also includes a pelican feeding its young, a symbol of the Eucharist, as well as embroidered images of the sun, moon, and stars—motifs associated with the Immaculate Conception— among other whimsical details.


From exhibition Archive of the World, 2022 (for more information see the catalogue entry by Alejandra Mayela Flores Enríquez in the accompanying publication, cat. no. 92, pp. 346–50)

Provenance
Abell Auction Company, Commerce, California, 1982; Douglas Morse, Pasadena, California, 1982; Loewi-Robertson Inc., Los Angeles, 1982; LACMA, 1982.
Selected Bibliography
  • Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History
  • Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
  • Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
  • Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024
  • Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024