Mary Haverkam

We are delighted to offer this outstanding Ten Commandments Tablet Sampler, an outstanding rendition of a highly desirable subject. Moses, holding his wooden staff, the symbol of God’s divine power, is positioned below the sky with the sun’s rays shining down upon him. He presents the commandments, which are set in a classic architectural composition. Bouquets of flowers tied with bowknots flank Moses; these are fine renderings of needlework patterns found on early 18th century samplers and canvaswork pictures. This entire panel at the top was accomplished in very fine tent stitch.  

The inscription at the bottom of the text on the left reads, “Mary Haverkam her sam / plar aged 15 years and 2 / months finished June / the 12 / 1733.” While the surname reads as HAUERCAM on the sampler, we noted that when Mary stitched the letter V in the middle of a word (as in SEUENTH / seventh) elsewhere on the sampler, it appears as a V. 

We turned to an English historian who specializes in genealogical research to uncover information about the samplermaker and her family. Extensive research led to the attribution of the samplermaker as Mary Haverkam, born 1717 to Hermons and Ann (Blunt) Haverkam, who married in April of 1709. Hermons and his brother, Coenrait, immigrated from the Low Countries (northwestern Europe, today’s Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) at the end of the 17th century, settling in Essex, just east of London. The brothers were successful calico printers and each passed his involvement with textiles down to the next generations. Interestingly, Mary’s sampler is consistent with other Ten Commandments Tablet samplers from the early 18th century made by girls from Low Country or French Huguenot families. 

Christenings / baptisms of family members in the archives of All Saints Church, West Ham, Essex include the record of Mary Haverkam, on May 19, 1717. Mary was the youngest of three children, all daughters, of Hermons and Ann. She seems to have remained single and died in either 1766 or 1771, in the parish of West Ham. 

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a fine carved reproduction frame.