Needlework Sampler

1831

Charlotte Turner

African, born 1821, death date unknown

Silk on wool

12 3/4 x 10 in. (32.4 x 25.4 cm)

Gift of Ruth J. Nutt, in honor of Julie Emerson

2014.24.3

Provenance: [Amy Finkel, M. Finkel and Daughter, Philadelphia]; purchased from gallery by Ruth J. Nutt, Orcas Island, Washington, 2004 - 2014; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2014

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Not currently on view

Media

For SAM's My Favorite Things series in 2018, artist Chris Jordan discusses Charlotte Turner's Needlework Sampler.

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Emblems of Encounter: Europe and Africa over 500 Years, Jan. 23, 2016 - Jan. 29, 2023.

Published ReferencesStrickrodt, Silke. "African Girls' Samplers From Mission Schools in Sierra Leone (1820s to 1840s)." History in Africa, Vol. 37 (2010), http://www.jstor.org/stable/40864625: 189-245.

Graves, Jen. "Investigating the Case of 10-Year-Old Seamstress "Charlotte Turner","The Slog, The Stranger Blog, October 20, 2014, http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/10/20/investigating-the-case-of-10-year-old-seamstress-charlotte-turner.

Graves, Jen. "Unraveling a Mystery in Storage at the Seattle Art Museum," in The Stranger, November 5, 2014, http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/unraveling-a-mystery-in-storage-at-the-seattle-art-museum/Content?oid=20948770.

Strickrodt, Silke."Mission Samplers from Sierra Leone: Traces of a Black Woman’s Career in the Church Missionary Society, c.1811 to 1841." Samplings, M. Finkel & Daughter, 2025. https://www.samplings.com/mission-samplers-sierra-leone-traces-black-womans-career-church-missionary-society-c1811-1841.

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