Needlework (3842)

Embroidered bookmark stitched on perforated paper in tent stitch, mounted on pink and cream ombré striped ribbon with figured silk woven design of paisleys, circles, and ovals. The embroidery is of a dove with a wreath in its mouth perched atop a chalice with a green branch curling around the chalice. An embroidered green geometric border frames the outer edge of the paper. Initials MAJC at the top and an inscription "to CCJenkinsxPennx" are executed in black thread. The dove is done in white and lavender tones, the wreath and branch are in several shades of green, and the chalice is done in white, cream, light gray, and four shades from yellow through orange and red. The embroidery thread is woolen.

Provenance Narrative
Small perforated paper embroidery designs like this one were often made up into bookmarks and given as gifts to friends and relations. According to the donor, this one was a gift to Maria Patton Chamberlain from her ancestor Catherine Jenkins. However, the fact that it passed down in the Jenkins family, along with its inscription TO C.C. Jenkins, indicates it must have been a gift FROM Maria TO Catherine Jenkins. The donor says that Jenkins helped fund Maria Patton's passage to Hawaii (then the "Sandwich Islands") as a missionary for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Perhaps this was a token of thanks given to Mrs. Jenkins prior to Maria's departure in 1827. The initials M.A.J.C. are not easily explained, however.

Maria Patton's daughter Isabella made the sampler in the DAR collection, 2017.14. A student at one of the mission schools made sampler 2017.15, taught by a fellow passenger on Maria's ship who became a lifelong friend of hers.

Place Made
United States PENNSYLVANIA Lancaster County

Signatures/Marks
M.A.J.C.
to
C.C. Jenkins x Penn x