Borduurwerk met een Bijbelse voorstelling van het verzamelen van manna, opgesteld tijdens de Exposition Rétrospective van 1873 in Tours, Frankrijk 1873

Gabriel Blaise created this embroidery of the gathering of manna, exhibited in Tours, France in 1873, using unknown materials. Representing a scene from the Old Testament, this embroidery encapsulates the 19th-century French religious and social values. France in the 1870s was still grappling with the aftershocks of the Revolution and the rise of secularism. Religious imagery, therefore, served as a powerful tool for reinforcing traditional values. The choice of embroidery as a medium, typically associated with domesticity and female labor, adds another layer of meaning. The image and the medium would have resonated with a society that emphasized the roles of family, religion, and tradition in the face of rapid social change. To fully appreciate this embroidery, a historian might consult exhibition records, religious texts, and social histories of 19th-century France to understand its position within cultural and institutional contexts.