Mary Hart

Description

This unusually focused American sampler depicts a folky, stylized cat surrounded by a three sided rosebud meander border. The colors are rather bizarre, but it is possible that certain colors have altered over the years from exposure to ultraviolet light and we were not able to examine it out of its frame. In fact it might have been a plain tabby cat in the year 1800. The morbid verse seems out of place. Obviously stitched by a child, the sampler still exhibits a symmetry, form and sentiment that belies the age of the maker. In early 19th century America verses of this nature were not considered to be at all morbid or gruesome, but rather mourning type art was a sophisticated expression of social, religious, and aesthetic ideas. Nonetheless for the squeamish an alternate four line verse is charted within the instructions, alongside the original verse. On 30 count linen the finished sampler will measure approximately 12″ x 15″. Only cross stitch is required.