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 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
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 - 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
This Irish Quaker sampler features an alphabet at the tope, verse, bands, and flowers. The verse reads "Great Almighty God above plant in my heart a fund of love, that I my mercies may adore and bless and praise thee evermore."
Model is stitched on 40 ct linen using either cotton... 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... Read more
Note from the designer - "This picture was originally designed to be used as a cushion or footstool cover, or perhaps as a decorative vignette inserted into the top of a wooden box for storing precious objects. Executed entirely in cross stitch, its most prominent characters are a large squirrel... Read more
Note from the designer - "Typical of so many Scottish samplers, Elizabeth Masterton's features an abundance of initials (likely familial), rows of evergreen trees, peacocks with seven tail feathers, and the now famous mansion house fronted by a pillared fence and gates enclosing sheep. Apart... 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 - "A sophisticated painterly use of perspective distinguishes this pictorial English sampler. An idealized rural scene with a thatched cottage nestled in a fertile valley, with white misted hills rising in the distance, also features a windmill, a flock of sheep,... Read more
Note from the designer: "The characteristic that readily identifies the origin of this sampler is the distinctive vine and rose border, configured such that a leaf on one side and a rosebud stem on the other give the illusion of a double vine. It is almost always found executed in cross stitch... Read more
What makes this early Victorian English sampler so intriguing are the wonderfully naive figures of Adam, Eve and St. Michael flanking the Tree of Life. St. Michael's sword is drawn to slay the serpent, but he hardly looks formidable with his large feet and doughy body. Playskool-like Adam and Eve... Read more
Try as we might, we cannot find another sampler to compare with this one by Sarah Brignell. It is a sampler unto itself: truly an original piece of folk art. The tiny central cartouche with the densely stitched scene floats like a little world unto itself in the midst of the exuberant garden of... 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
Made in Providence, Rhode Island, this sampler is a superb example of the work done at Miss Mary (Polly) Balch's school, one of the most important female learning institutions in America at that time. Combining sophisticated architectural, landscape and figural motifs with elaborate and unusual... Read more
This mid-eighteenth-century Scottish band sampler features many classic seventeenth-century patterns, executed in cross, eyelet, double running, counted satin, back, and queen stitches.
The virtually unfaded color was reproduced from the front of the sampler. Six pattern bands precede... 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″.
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 - "In 1779, the Quaker Friends School at Ackworth, Yorkshire, was established for the purpose of educating young people of both sexes, and instilling the values of their Society; equality, simplicity, peace. Girls received nearly the same instruction as boys. Out of this... 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.
This American sampler was stitched on a loosely woven homespun linen with vegetable-dyed silk threads. Despite its size and simplicity, the design is striking, delicate, and well-balanced. Eunice Morton was born in 1783 in Gorham County, Maine. Sometime in 1809-1810, she married Jesse Harding, and... Read more
Note from the designer - "Abigail Ann was born October 27, 1799, in East Caln, Chester County Pennsylvania. Her parents were Joseph and Ann (Wells) Fleming, the fourth generation of Flemings living in the East Caln area. Abigail Ann attended one of the Quaker schools in Chester County but we are... Read more
Note from the designer - "This sampler was made in St. Albans, Vermont. A naturalistic four-sided floral border surrounds a central reserve with alphabets and a pictorial scene. The house is so distinctive that it is probably a depiction of Amanda's own home. Made under the tutelage of B.... Read more
Note from the designer - "A classic Quaker sampler from the Delaware Valley, this sampler demonstrates the style and many of the motifs that make them so easy to identify. The inner oval vine-and-leaf cartouche surrounding the alphabets probably originated at the Westtown School in Chester... Read more
Note from the designer - "Elizabeth Eaton finished her sampler on the 21st of July in 1712. She used bold, primary colors suggestive of Scottish influence. The original sampler was stitched with both silk and fine wool threads on linen using cross, eyelet, rice, queen, herringbone, double... Read more
This letterndoek (lettering) form of Dutch sampler appears from the late 17th through the early 19th century. It is easy to recognize by its horizontal shape, and beautifully illuminated lettering, interspersed with various symbolic shapes and Biblical motifs. The color scheme used on so many of... Read more
Note from the designer - "This beautiful. petite, energetic sampler expressed three fine verses and, at the end, one of the truest "signatures" I've ever read on a piece of needlework:
By this ingenous Maids
may see what by the
needl wrought
may be
Note from the designer: "This naive Adam and Eve sampler might have been made in Maryland around 1810. At first I believed that the sampler was either English or Irish, judging by the unusual surname, until, in my research, I came upon the gravestone of a Fanny H. Peachey, born 24 November 1799,... Read more
Note from the designer: "This sampler was probably made in Rhode Island, a poor sister, perhaps, to the magnificent creations coming out of the girls' schools in Newport, Providence and Bristol at this same period, but bearing some similar "signatures". The squat, long-tailed bird at the... Read more
Note from the designer: "Who would love this world or prize whats in it
that gives and takes and chops and changes every minute.
This brilliant English traditional band sampler comes from the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. Drawing on traditional sampler motifs of the 17th... 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 intricate and involved sampler features many traditional German sampler motifs dating from the sixteenth century including a large parrot, a peacock with silver tips on its wings, the Lamb of God, as well as a depiction of the Crucifixion flanked by Mother Mary and... Read more
This is a very finely stitched classic Scottish sampler featuring three complete rows of beautifully illuminated letters, an arcaded floral band as well as other traditional motifs including peacocks, birds drinking at the fountain of life, feather trees and family initials. A four sided berry... Read more
Note from the designer: "This small and brilliantly preserved band sampler demonstrates a wide variety of stitches found on many seventeenth century samplers. The beautifully shaded flower heads and leaves are filled in with connecting tiers of trellis stitch."
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 - "Designed after an early eighteenth century tent stitched picture, this expansive needlework scene depicts many episodes in the life of an affluent English family including its elaborate parterre and gardens, a stately brick and stone house, domestic, exotic and wild... Read more
Note from the designer - "This little needlework was likely made as a panel of a "huswif"/aka a "housewife", which was an embroidered, double-sided vertical series of pockets made to hold needleworking supplies. It could be folded up or hung from a peg for swift access to the... Read more
A unique four-sided geometric border is the highlight of this American sampler, consisting of nine rows of letters and numerals surrounded by a counted satin stitch sawtooth inner border. The design looks like something that might have inspired the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. I have not been able... Read more
This is a beautiful sampler from Norwich (Norfolk, United Kingdom), possibly stitched at a school run by one Mrs. Wright or her descendent (hence the initials "MW" below Elizabeth's name in the attribution). A list of teachers in Norwich in 1783 includes Wright, Massey, and Cheetleburgh. The... Read more
Note from the designer - "ANN WHITTAKER created an almost comically theatrical sampler depicting Adam and Eve, angels, pious verses, and elaborate meandering vines beneath dramatic multi-colored draperies and tassels. Hovering over the verse which is framed by large columns, are two angels with... Read more
Note from the designer - "This sampler shows a man and a woman beneath an apple tree, reminiscent of Adam and Eve, but in contemporary dress. Possibly of New York origin (the format and background suggest this), this reproduction is stitched on linen with either cotton or silk, with the... 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
Note from the designer - "This is a very graceful and finely stitched sampler, an unusual combination for the late date. Nine ethereal female figures, like penitents in an Edward Gorey cartoon, march solemnly about the sampler, paying homage to the house. The huge house appears to be welcoming... Read more
Note from the designer - "This very delicate Scottish sampler with its bold color scheme was designed with a four sided stylized honeysuckle border surrounding horizontal rows of illuminated alphabets and double running stitch motifs. The extensive use of double running stitch lends the sampler... Read more
Note from the designer - "This is a beautifully balanced, intensely stitched transitional sampler. Worked originally in brightly colored silk threads on a fine tammy (wool) ground, it features a repeating, four-sided carnation border, surrounding five horizontal bands interspersed by lines of... Read more