Unique In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries samplers were increasingly being used as an educational tool for girls from all social backgrounds. This sampler forms part of a total of fourteen examples donated to the Museum by Peter Orr, ranging in date from 1785-1886. Various silk stiches in brown, green, blue, red, yellow, black, beige and white on wool ground. The sampler has a central moral text in purple stitching, which is surrounded by floral, butterfly and crown decoration. At the bottom of the sampler are two human figures - a standing male, presumably a shepherd as he has sheep at his feet, as well as a woman seated holding a staff. There is a floral, rose shaped border. Made by Mary Grace, aged twelve in 1797. Sampler in various silk stitches on wool ground. Made by Mary Grace, aged twelve in 1797. The earliest surviving samplers date back to the sixteenth century, where they were used as a personal reference for experienced or professional embroiderers. By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries however, when this example was made, samplers were increasingly being used as an educational tool for girls from all social backgrounds. Samplers also had an increasingly pictoral focus by this time, often framed with embroidered border patterns; the use of moralising texts and motifs also served as an expression of dutiful piety. This example was made by twelve year old Mary Grace in 1797.