Sampler

Inscriptions

Jesus permit thy sacred name to stand / As the faint effort of a youthful and / And while her finger over the canvas move / engage her tender heart to seek thy love / With thy dear children let her hanve a part / And write they name thyself upon her heart / Ann During / Gloucester / Sierra Leone / West Africa /1843

Label

This sampler, sewn with patience and precision, was made by a young African girl who was captured to be sold into slavery in the United States. She was from another part of West Africa but created this sampler in Sierra Leone. British navy ships often disrupted the slave trade in the early 19th century, but instead of returning people to their homes, the British resettled them in Sierra Leone, where they were known as "Recaptives." Required to adopt European schooling and religion, Ann was probably renamed for the former superintendent of the mission schools in Gloucester, Henry During. Once completed, her sampler would have been sent to Europe to attract more funding from English and German donors for the schools.

From the 2026 exhibition Inhabiting Historical Time: Slavery and Its Afterlives, curated by Amelia Kahl (Barbara C. & Harvey P. Hood 1918 Senior Curator of Academic Programming) and Alisa Swindell (Associate Curator of Photography)  

Course History

HIST 5.08/AAAS 19, Africa and the World, Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch, Summer 2022

HIST 5.08/AAAS 19, Africa and the World, Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch, Summer 2022

HIST 5.08/AAAS 19, Africa and the World, Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch, Summer 2022

HIST 5.14, Americas: Invasion to Independence, Paul Musselwhite and Ernesto Mercadeo-Montero, Fall 2022

Writing Program 5.01, Experience and Education: Students, Teachers, Institutions, and the Power of Learning, Francine A'Ness, Winter 2023

History 90.14, The Global British Empire, Tiraana Bains, Winter 2023

History 90.14, The Global British Empire, Tiraana Bains, Winter 2023

Art History 20.04, Faith and Empire, Beth Mattison, Spring 2023

Writing 5.01, Experience and Education: Students, Teachers, Institutions and the Power of Learning, Francine A'Ness, Fall 2023

History 5.14, Americas: From Invasion to Independence, Ernesto Mercado-Montero and Paul Musselwhite, Fall 2023

Writing 5.01 - Experience and Education: Students, Teachers, Institutions, and the Power of Learning, Francine A'Ness, Winter 2024

Writing 5.01, Experience and Education: Students, Teachers, Institutions, and the Power of Learning, Francine A'Ness, Fall 2025

Writing 5.02, Experience and Education, Francine A'Ness, Winter 2026

Exhibition History

Inhabiting Historical Time: Slavery and Its Afterlives, Jaffe and Hall Galleries, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 20, 2025 - July 11, 2026.

Provenance

M. Finkel and Daughter, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; sold to present collection, 2021.

This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.

We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu

Subjects