Nasca Sample, Peru, 2nd century BC.
Copyright Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 1979.206.889.
An early form of a needlework sample (often classed as a sampler) from Nasca, Peru, is kept in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (USA). The sample dates to the second century BC. It is 105 x 72 cm in size. A sample is a piece of cloth on which motifs and stitches are worked out in a random manner. The aim of this type of textile is to act as a private ‘sketch pad’ to remind the embroiderer of techniques and ideas.
The ground material of this particular example is made from cotton and it is decorated with numerous half finished and finished motifs, including stylised gods, human figures, animals and other symbols. The individual designs are worked in coloured camelid hair thread.
Metropolitan Museum of Art online catalogue (retrieved 6th July 2016).
GVE
