Sarah Mitchell 1758

Description

Here is offered a dainty and colorful mid-eighteenth-century English sampler executed in cross and petit point stitched with silk on fine linen.

The original color is really outstanding. A four-sided border of daisies and dianthus surrounds three pious verses with delicate horizontal floral bands between them. At the bottom is a large vase full of lilies, with the attribution and the date in the base, with parrots on either side. Parrots were popular pets in England at this time, with their colorful feathers and their ability to mimic human speech and sounds. The parrots on this sampler resemble Amazon parrots, one of the most common and popular species, because it was easily tamed and a good talker.

The sampler is in very good condition, with just a few small holes along the upper middle and lower right borders. The color is unfaded and vibrant. It has been conservation mounted behind Tru Vue glass with spacers in a new frame. The sampler measures 15″ x 13″, with the frame it displaces 20″ x 17-3.4″