Needlework Picture of Landscape with Deer and Figures by Unknown Maker

Dateca. 1845

MediumWool embroidery threads on a linen ground (fiber identification by eye)

DimensionsFramed: OH 7 1/4" x OW 9 3/4"
Actual (by sight): OH 6 1/2" x OW 9"

Credit LineGift of the John D. Rockefeller, 3rd, Fund, Inc., through the generosity and interest of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3rd, and members of the family

Object number1979.602.3

DescriptionThis needlework picture is worked in yellow, green, blue, brown, and black wool embroidery threads on a linen canvas. A deer stands at the center, drinking from a pond. The banks of the pond are covered with grass, trees, and rocks. A wooden bridge crosses the pond in the background. A man and a woman stand next to the bridge, their backs turned towards the viewer. The sky is blue with several stylized clouds floating in the upper right hand corner.

Stitches: tentLabel TextThis picture is an example of Berlin work, a popular form of needlework during the mid- to late nineteenth century. Patterns for Berlin work were printed on a graph, making it easy for needleworkers to transfer them onto the ground fabric. Usually Berlin work patterns were worked in wool using a single type of stitch (usually cross or tent stitch).ProvenanceKatrina Kipper found this piece in Massachusetts at some point before 1936. Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr. purchased this piece from Katrina Kipper in Accord, Massachusetts in January 1936, for use in Bassett Hall, their Williamsburg home. The Rockefellers gave the picture to Colonial Williamsburg in 1979.