A MISCELLANY: A Collection of Seventeenth Century Canvas work Elements from the Natural World
The subjects in this needlework design are taken from a seventeenth century canvas work, formerly in the collection of The Scarlet Letter, consisting of nine panels stitched primarily in shades... Read more
Amelia Boyce's pictorial sampler demonstrates two popular art forms of the early 19th century manifested in the sampler mode: the image of an architectural engraving, and the influence of Berlin patterns in the naturalistic (rather than nave or stylized) floral patterns. A widely mixed floral... Read more
Note from the designer: "This densely worked sampler displays exquisite detail and contains many of the most popular needlework motifs of the seventeenth century. The flowers are realistically shaded to achieve a natural look."
Finished size on 35 count linen is 7 1/4" x 25... Read more
Flora and fauna were highly celebrated in nearly all 17th and 18th century pictorial embroideries. Executed entirely in cross or tent (half cross) stitches, the embroidered pictures embellished cushions and furniture and reflected a changing attitude toward domestic comforts, by serving to brighten... Read more
Note from the designer - "This finely stitched German sampler begins with a single row of alphabets above an immensely intricate collection of symbolic cross stitched motifs, including battling angels, the figure of Justice with her scales, the spies of Canaan, the crucifixion, Adam and Eve... Read more
Note from the designer - This is the most symmetrical, balanced, counted thread sampler that we have ever charted from. It is also one of the most satisfying, challenging, and beautiful samplers in the world. Originally worked on a fine wool ground, the colors of our reproduction have been matched... Read more
Agnes Binnie was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, on March 22, 1808, to Robert Binnie and Mary Addie. She married James Barclay on March 16, 1832, in Falkirk, Stirlingshire. The couple had at least six sons and three daughters. Around 1870 they emigrated to Scotland Township in McDonough, Illinois.... Read more
A derivative 17th-century canvas work picture. The Adam and Eve legend was a more popular theme on samplers after the early eighteenth century so this example is quite unusual. The pair are not often seen on earlier needleworks, even though most illustrated bibles of the sixteenth and seventeenth... Read more
Note from the designer: "The figures depicted on this original design were derived from wood block engravings of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The format of the hornbook follows actual examples from the late 18th century. Hornbooks functioned as primers, used to teach young children their... Read more
Note from the designer - "The design of this piece was inspired by fine examples of early eighteenth century American and English needlework pictures. A picture like this would have been stitched as a painting, with great attention to detail, shading, color, and composition." The design... Read more
Note from the designer - This needlework was designed after an English sampler in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts-Boston. The lush border flowers are similar to those on a sampler made by Sarah Brignell from around the same period, suggesting the existence of a school or teacher whose... Read more
Note from the designer - "This design was inspired by an early eighteenth century English picture executed in tent stitch." The designs features a lion, a leopard and a parrot surrounded by bright flowers.
The design is stitched over one thread on 35 Ct. linen. It uses cross stitch,... Read more
The canvaswork piece from which this bell pull was derived is a book cover, and dates to the first quarter of the 17th century. square tent stitched vignettes, reproduced here in the panels of the bell pull covered the book's spine vertically. It seems appropriate that the allegorical figures of... Read more
This is a reproduction of an English sampler made in Bradford, Yorkshire, that shows distinct influences of Scottish needlework traditions, particularly in the illuminated alphabets. The bold primary colors were reproduced from the front of the original sampler, which retains its amazing... Read more
This wonderfully symmetrical English sampler features a pair of silky floating swans and large twin sunflowers, executed in a rich natural palette of color. Birds fly over the tops of three flower-trees in the top third. A sumptuous basket of fruit is stitched between the golden swans, and towering... Read more
This colorful William III English needlework vignette is executed entirely in gros and petit point stitches (cross stitch over one and two threads of linen). It depicts a large gros point fruiting tree above a scene with very finely stitched petit point leaves, flowers, and two animals, the larger... Read more
The original Scottish antique sampler had never been framed and so it was in excellent condition with the same vibrant, unfaded colors on the front as well as on the back. An unusual, elaborate four-sided undulating floral and leaf border surrounds a central reserve with a brief moral verse. Adam... Read more
This is a reproduction of a Quaker sampler made in Chester County, Pennsylvania consisting of alphabets, numerals, ligatures* and lineal patterns executed in a variety of stitches. The uppermost border with the dangling central flower is often seen on American Quaker samplers of this period (see... Read more
This amazing, unprecedented English sampler illustrates so many unique and bold elements of design, stitched in a balanced way inside a four-sided strawberry border. In all my decades of study I've never seen an antique sampler with quite this much bizarre personality.
This 19th century American reproduction sampler features a brown bird on a tree branch. Rated for beginners. Model stitched on 35 count hand dyed linen using either cotton or silk thread. Two versions of the sampler graph have been furnished: one executed with a drawn partially freehand split and... Read more
Note from the designer: "German and Dutch samplers are known for their iconography, especially the symbolic religious motifs. This piece, reproduced from the collection of the Allentown Art Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania, portrays many of these motifs. Adam and Eve, in particular, are often... Read more
In the upper register of this finely stitched English sampler there is featured an unusual vignette of Adam and Eve beneath the tree of life (with a menacing black faced serpent) flanked by mirror image brick cottages, followed by a pious verse:
Note from the designer - "Several band samplers very similar to this one are in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London as well as in other important collections. This particular sampler came from the collection of The Scarlet Letter, and is now in a private collection. A... Read more
Note from the designer - "Acquired in England, one might assume that this classic Quaker motif sampler was made at the Ackworth School in Yorkshire. However the influence of the designs promulgated by the Quaker School needleworkers stretched far beyond the confines of the school's walls. This... Read more
Note from the designer - "Rhode Island samplers were among the first American schoolgirl embroideries to be recognized by serious collectors and textile scholars as a distinctive group with extraordinary visual appeal. The Sheffield sampler is delicately worked with an unusually pleasing... Read more
Note from the designer - "Eleanor Parr created this amazing and unique sampler some time before 1835. The border of birds encircled by vines and leaves is unprecedented. Fleurs de lys embellish each of the four corners surrounding a central reserve containing a traditional verse, floral sprays... Read more
Note from the designer - "An intensely stitched and well-planned sampler, this unusual piece probably originated in Pennsylvania. The allegorical figure hovering over the house could represent Liberty. The unconnected border of floating honeysuckle is unique, as well as the little pastoral vignettes in the lower register." Rated for beginners.
Note from the designer - "At age nine in 1818, Sarah Dutnel created this unusual "tree of life" sampler. A traditional carnation and tulip border in subtle, earthy shades of gold, brown, and cream surrounds the tree. Dogs, deer, birds, stars, potted plants, trees and flowers flank the... Read more
Note from the designer - "Adapted from an English sampler dated 1783. The original sampler from which this piece was adapted measures 15-1/2" x 12-1/2", and was stitched over one thread of linen on approximately 50-thread-count glazed linen. The house on the left alone, which measures 71... Read more
Note from the designer - "A characteristically northern German sampler, this example from Hamburg consists of random symbolic spot motifs, with a unifying central scene and borders. Religious symbols are commonly found on almost all continental samplers, and Adam and Eve in particular is often... Read more
This is a reproduction of an English sampler that features a four-sided carnation border, centering many intricate organic petit point motifs. The large mansion house dominates the central reserve, standing above an extensive pasture occupied by two very large and cockeyed sheep. These imaginative... Read more
Note from the designer: "This band sampler was designed after a piece in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, most remarkable for the colorful, solidly filled geometric and floral sections. It also features double running stitch sections found on Italian embroideries of the sixteenth and... Read more
Note from the designer: "Adapted from a mid eighteenth century English sampler. The combination of several unusual stitch techniques with bold primary colors, makes this sampler outstandingly beautiful and a rewarding project to stitch.
While the majority is done in cross stitch, large... Read more
Note from the designer: "Mourning pictures were not an uncommon art form in England and America during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Evolving from European commemorative art honoring deceased heroes, mourning pictures were a cherished way to remember loved ones, designed to... Read more
"Jesus permit thy Gracious name to stand as the first effort of an infant hand. And while her fingers on the canvas move, engage her tender thoughts to seek thy love. With thy dear children, let her have a part and write thy name thyself upon her heart."
Note from the designer: "Hannah Mosher was born March 12th, 1786, in Hollis, New Hampshire, the fourth and last child of Abijah and Hannah Mosher. On March 7, 1813, she married the Rev. Walter Chapin of Woodstock, Vermont. Apart from this sketchy biographical information, found in the History of... Read more
Note from the designer: "A beautiful meandering four-sided floral border in an unusually rich color palette surrounds this traditional Scottish sampler, also featuring a beautiful arcaded floral band at the top and a substantial mansion house in the lower register. Trees, tulips and flying birds... Read more
Note from the designer: "This original design blends a mid-18th century floral sampler border with a late 18th century lettering and cartouche style, and a mid-19th century sentiment. Instructions are provided for working the sampler in a different color scheme (red, blues, greens) on a neutral... Read more
Note from the designer: "This Scottish sampler features many distinguishing characteristics of samplers made in that country, most notably the arcaded pansy band across the top third, the four-sided floral border with double running stitch flourishes, and the famous mansion house. Of this large... Read more
This sampler was made in Scotland and includes many of the traditional motifs associated with samplermaking in this region. Firstly, Janet has included many initials of family members. However the initials at the center- G R 3 -refer to the then-reigning monarch, King George III. The flowering... Read more
Note from the designer: "Samplers worked with black backgrounds are unique to New England, and this one is designed after a late 18th century Massachusetts piece. A portly clergyman is depicted strolling between a fashionable lady under a parasol, and a church or meeting -house; with a frisky... Read more
Note from the designer: "The flight into Egypt is a biblical event described in the Gospel of Matthew. Soon after Mary and Jesus were visited by the Magi, who had learned that King Herod intended to kill the male infants in that region, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee... Read more
A RED BRICK MANSION HOUSE is at the center of this wildly engaging English sampler featuring a small
zoo/conservatory/aviary of flora and fauna as interpreted by an exceptionally talented young
woman of the early nineteenth century. The verse is common enough on nineteenth-century samplers, unlike... Read more
Note from the designer - "This sweet English sampler is the first I've ever seen with a border made up of flying cherubs. It also features a "geode" (mosaic) parrot- a distinctively stylized bird that appears on other samplers made in England, New England, and the Netherlands throughout... Read more
This sampler features a lion, a camel, and large colorful flowers. The design was stitched over 2 threads on 40 Ct. linen and is suitable for all skill levels. The stitch count for each design is 244 W x 230 H. The finished piece will measure approximately 12-1/2″ x 11-1/2″.