Be Kind To The Cow Mother...The ambiguity and multiple possible readings of this old punch paper embroidery makes it is one of my favorite finds ever...so wonderfully curious! Are we to be kind to the the mother cow? Or was its maker pleading to her mother to be kind to the cow?! Or, was it "Mother" who made this and decided to sign it as such? I tend to lean toward the first reading, thus loving the specificity of it being not just the cow but the cow mother who is the object of concern. And of course we want to be extra kind to her, so sweetly and specifically depicted in brown and white and a little yellow, plus red around her udders, and standing on a small patch of grass in varied shades of green. This makes my heart ache.
8 15/16" t x 6 13/16" w x 7/8" d in the frame I found it in, which I think suits it just fine. Very good condition. Late 19th/very early 20th c. I believe.