Skip to main content
Advanced Search
2008.603.1, Needlework Picture
Needlework Floral Picture by Amelia de Young
2008.603.1, Needlework Picture

Needlework Floral Picture by Amelia de Young

Date1830
Maker 1809 - 1898
OriginAmerica, Maryland, Baltimore
MediumChenille, metallic thread, paint, pencil, silk, silk velvet, gilded wood, glass (fiber identification by eye)
DimensionsFramed (H x W): 24 1/2" x 24 1/2"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number2008.603.1
DescriptionThis presentation embroidery is roughly square with a brown velvet border. It features a large bouquet of flowers, including carnations, roses, and pansies, embroidered primarily in silk chenille on a silk satin ground. Seven colors of chenille are used (red, two shades of brown, three shades of green, blue, white), which are supplemented by paints or other materials applied after construction (blue, green, yellow, pink). Further, the upper right and top of the design are detailed with 2-ply silk threads in green and navy (or black). While it appears that much of the chenille is couched, detached chain stitches (lazy daisy stitches), outline stitches, backstitches, and running stitches are also present. The ribbon holding the flowers is ornamented by French knots in silver-wrapped thread. The entire work is framed by a brown, silk velvet ribbon, which in turn is edged in gild-wrapped thread in a 4-ply-Z, 3-ply-S braid.

The inscription, “Presented to my beloved Husband, Meichel DeYoung, / by his affectionnate [sic] Wife, Amelia DeYoung.,’ is worked in silver-wrapped thread that is couched with cream silk floss. The place (Baltimore) and date (Nov. 26, 1830) are included in the inscription using the same materials and method.

The work is framed in a square, gilt wood frame decorated with grape leaves.

Stitches: back, couching, detached chain, French knots, outline, runningLabel TextTwenty-one year-old Amelia Morange de Young made this for her new husband, Meichel de Young in 1830. Meichel was a Jewish Dutch immigrant who made a name for himself as a jeweler in Baltimore, while Amelia was a Jewish French immigrant whose father founded the second synagogue in Manhattan. Meichel and Amelia, along with their children, moved across the United States to New York City, St. Louis, Natchitoches, Cincinnati, Richmond, and finally San Francisco, where two of their sons founded what would become The San Francisco Chronicle. Amelia and Meichel's youngest son, M.H. de Young, also founded the de Young, one of San Francisco's major art museums.

Stitched in Time:
Young women who continued their education frequently completed a needlework picture as a final project. In addition to the stitching practiced in a sampler, these decorative scenes often included painted elements. Design subjects ranged from literary to classical to floral scenes.

Not all needlework pictures were made by students. Twenty-one-year-old Amelia de Young worked this picture in 1830. Born in France, Amelia and her family immigrated to New York in 1824. There her father helped found the B’nai Jeshurun Jewish congregation in 1825 before the family moved to Baltimore. In 1827, Amelia married jeweler Meichel de Young, to whom she dedicated this needlework picture.Provenance1830, made by Amelia Morange de Young (Baltimore, MD); passed by descent to the de Young estate (San Francisco, CA); 2008, purchased by unnamed buyer (San Francisco, CA); 2008, purchased by Neverbird Antiques [Bill and Joyce Subjack] (Surry, VA); 2008-present, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)