Small mid 19th century sampler by Mary Twibell - 1875. Worked in silk on a cotton gauze backing, this little sampler, which in my opinion, has a Bristol influence, is just delightful with fine quality stitch work throughout. The upper section of the gauze is stitched with rows of alphabet letters and numbers interspersed with single diamond motifs and rows of diamonds. The middle section of the gauze contains a charming image of a bee skep on a table with its occupants buzzing around their dwelling which has foliage to each side followed by a flower basket, floral motifs and a bird on a flower basket, the latter with a crown and identifying initial above. The following short piece of prose is then stitched beneath
Let me be as busy as the bee
And not idle as the mischievous wasp
The lower section of the gauze is stitched with Mary's name with her age missing, quite possibly unpicked by Mary herself so as not to reveal her true age at a later date. The date of 1875 is stitched below the word AGED with a flower basket and crown plus identifying initial to each side, then the whole piece is surrounded by a narrow linked border.
The gauze has overall discolouration consistent with its age with general faint staining. There is also a small area of damage to the left of the crown which has the K for KING below and one is able to see through this that the sampler is sitting on a backing cloth. The sampler is behind glass so I'm not able to see the reverse, but the colours of the silks appear good though they are likely to have mellowed to some extent over the years. There is also a small amount of stitch loss to the centre of the border pattern running across the bottom edge. The sampler is contained within a mid 19th century bird's eye maple frame with gilt slip. Both are in good condition with the slip retaining much of its original gilding and the frame with scratches and scuff marks commensurate with its age and a few small, old losses to the veneer.
Measures 9 1/4" across x 9 1/2" (sight size) and 12 3/4" x 13" including the frame.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO MENTION THAT I HAVE USED A NEW CAMERA TO TAKE THESE PHOTOGRAPHS AND I AM STRUGGLING WITH THE COLOUR BALANCE (something I'm STILL working on!!) AS SUCH, SOME OF MY PHOTOS HAVE A SLIGHTLY FIERY OR YELLOWISH LOOK TO THEM WHICH IS NOT THE CASE, IT'S JUST MY INCOMPETENCE!