Double Hemisphere Sampler

Description

An embroidery of a double hemisphere, tracking Captain Cook's three voyages across the Pacific. The embroidery features the title 'A Map of the World' in a circle and depicts two hemispheres, labelled Western and Eastern. Each corner features an embroidery of peoples from the four continents of Europe, Asia, America and Africa. New Zealand can be seen in the left hand bottom corner of the Western sphere.

The work is stitched in black on a pale silk ground and features some colour highlights in red, blue and gold. It is framed in the original ebonised frame.

A note on the reverse states: 'Worked by Anne Margaret Hammond in the year of our Lord 1812'

Significance

Captain Cook's voyages of discovery between 1768 and 1779 produced accurate maps, extensive collections of natural history specimens and ethnographic objects, and major advances in navigation which revolutionised European understanding of the Pacific and led to the British colonisation of Australia and New Zealand. This embroidered map sampler demonstrates the incorporation of Cook's discoveries into the British education system for young women, and suggests a growing sense of national pride at his achievements.