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Title
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Mourning piece
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Creator
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Austin Haines, Diademia
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Publisher
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Bethlehem Digital History Project
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Date
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1817
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Type
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Still image; color
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Format
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Needlework; 14.5 x 17 in.
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Description
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Needlework piece made by Diademia Austin Haines while she was a student at Moravian Seminary in 1817. The piece is a large rectangular mourning piece on silk in frame. A woman in brown dress leaning with her head bowed against neutral color urn. The woman is standing in pond surrounded by black border embellished with a repeating pattern of spangles. A weeping willow tree in gold and green is in the background.
In the early 1800s, mourning embroidery became popular across the nation, as an expression of overwhelming grief following the death of George Washington. The mourning piece later transcended its original purpose and became a fashionable needlework motif exemplifying refinement and culture. Mourning pieces included the use of India ink, paint or pencil to draw facial features and hands. A professional artist or teacher would be commissioned for the drawing. The black chain stitched border with fancy spangles was popular on mourning pieces made at the Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies in Bethlehem.
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Subject
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Grief
Needlework
Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies
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Identifier
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MC643
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Provenance
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Gift of Mary Harwood Bacon
