#8138                                                                                                        Tree of Life Sampler               

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13" x 13" or 14 3/4" x 16 including the original arched top frame. This charming sampler features one of the prettiest trees I have ever seen on a sampler. It is covered with leaves and fruit and even the trunk of the tree is covered vines and foliage. It is beautiful! The two floral baskets are equally lovely. Every- thing  has a soft feathery appearance. There are more pretty florals done in blue and a lovely strawberry border surrounding the sampler. Overall it has a feminine look and feel to it.

 

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                                                                                                Her verse reads:

Forget thee it is vain to try
My thoughts still dwell on days gone by
The time the place where first we met
Oh no I never can forget

The times are changed and I must bear
The trials others will not share
A silent tear a vain regret
For one I never could forget".

The sampler is not signed or dated but it is circa 1820.                                                                                  

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The sampler's condition is very good.  I can find only one small hole in the middle of the tree.  The fabric is gauze-like so the stitch count is tiny.  There is some darkening in the outside border area but the colors of the fibers are vibrant and the silks have a lovely sheen. The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                         $1195

                                                                             #8140                                                                                                      Sarah Bradburn Sampler              

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22" x 23" or 25" x 26" including a modern frame.  Sarah's lovely sampler features a gorgeous three story mansion with three wings and thirty multi-paned windows. To say the house is beautiful is an understatement. She added trees, florals, hearts.birds, baskets of fruit, as well as a honeysuckle border and a verse. Sarah's needlework is filled with many, many wonderful sampler motifs.

 

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                                                                                                                                  Her verse reads:

"Virtue alone has that to give
Which makes it joy to die or live
Whilst vice can only that supply
which makes it pain to live or die".

She signed her sampler "Sarah Bradburn's work  Nov 18th, 1819.  Instructed By Mrs. Smith".                                                                                   

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There are some issues with the condition of Sarah's beautiful sampler. There are three large holes, one medium sized hole and one small hole in the fabric.  There is a fair amount of darkening to the fabric and it appears that something sharp (possibly broken glass) may have scored the fabric a bit in the verse area.  Please click on the picture enlargements and you will see the damage. The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     $800

                                                                             #8139                                                                                                      Sarah Forshaw Sampler               

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15 1/2" x 19" or 21 1/4" x 24 1/2 including a stunning 19th century bird's eye maple frame with a gilt slip. Sarah's magni- ficent sampler is truly a work of art. She depicts a castle in ruins. The castle itself is beautifully stitched with turrets and pillars and archways.  The trees and shrubbery surrounding the castle are gorgeous. They have so much texture that they give the appearance of stumpwork even though they are actually just very thick knots. There is a man sitting under the tree and two fallen pillars on the ground. Sarah added two borders to surround the scene.  The inside border is a gorgeous band of flowers and swirling ribbons - again with lots of texture. The outside border is a simple undulating band of flowers.                                                                                                        

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Her verse reads:

Love to God produces love to men
Let gratitude in acts of goodness shew
Our love to God in love to men below.
Be this our joy - to calm the troubled breast,
Support the weak, and succour the distrest;
Direct the wand'rer, dry the widow's tear;
The orphan guard, the sinking spirits cheer.
Tho' small our pow'r to act, tho' mean our skill,
God sees the heart; he judges by the will.
Sarah Forshaw's work 1829".

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The condition of Sarah's lovely sampler is good. I didn't find any holes in the fabric.  There is a small amount of bleeding around the top of the castle and a bit of overall darkening to the piece.  But the colors of the silks are vibrant and there is still a lovely sheen to them. This sampler has so much depth and artistic beauty that it is a trulty special piece of needlework. The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                     $1850

                                                                         #6641                                                                                                  Elizabeth Larkens Sampler
                                                  

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13" x 16".   18 1/2" x 22 " including the original frame.   Elizabeth's sampler is simply wonderful!   The two black faced men at the bottom appear to be dressed in jester-like costumes.  I suspect that these are meant to be characters from some type of English music hall performance.   English samplers are often filled with the wonders of what was going on in the world around the young girls who stitched them. In any case they are amazingly rare and very, very special.   And the figures are not the only special thing about this sampler. It is filled with lovely florals, trees, birds, dogs, and many other beautiful motifs.  There are alphabets, and a verse all surrounded with an elegant honeysuckle vine border.   Elizabeth's sampler is quite beautiful.

n.b. Thanks to London antique dealer Erna Hiscock,  I can now explain the significance of the two black face figures.  Erna writes, "Your sampler represents Harlequin, the partner of Columbine.  He is often portrayed with a black mask.  Harlequin was supposedly born in Bergamo and was a servant of one of the main char- acters named Pantaloon.  He was the lover or husband to Columbine, a maid in the same household. He spent most of his time in romantic dalliance, plotting mischief, hence the mask.  The story is based on a 16th century Italian comedy.  By the 18th century it had degenerated into light musical entertain- ment and was being performed in London.  These figures first appeared on samplers in the 1770s".  Thank you, Erna & John.  If you know the right person to ask, finding the answer is easy!

  

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                                                                                                                                                The verse reads:
" During the time of life allotted me
Grant me good God my wealth and liberty
I ask no more if thou art Please to give
I will with thanks the over plus Received".

She signed her sampler,  " wrought by Elizabeth Larkens in the 16 year of her age   1821".                                                                                                                                                             

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There is some damage to the fabric in the bottom left corner, as well as small holes in the upper left and bottom right corners.   And there are four very small holes in the alphabet area.  But, the sampler has been stitched to another piece of linen, so it is well stablized.  There are no thread losses and the silks are still vibrant and they retain their sheen, so it is still in good condition.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         SOLD