Among the things I'm obsessed with, darning samplers are at the top of the list, especially very finely executed 18th and earlier 19th century Dutch ones like this, dated 1816--to me just astounding in the beauty of those laborious, painstakingly precise, gorgeously colored, intricately patterned darns. (Darns being essentially small, freehand weavings used to mend holes in cloth, and a darning sampler like this a showcase of the maker's ability to match a spectrum of complex textile patterns.) I would guess from the fineness of the silk thread used here, shimmering like gold, silver and copper, that its maker was from a very affluent family; often these early Dutch samplers show merged letters as this one does, which I find very hard to decipher, so I have not tried to figure out the maker. An especially diverse, very skillfully executed variety of darns here--enjoy the detail photos, which give the best sense!
Professionally framed fairly recently (Bark Frameworks on Grand St. in Soho, NYC), under glass as found: 17 3/4" x 17 1/2". Sight (sampler) 14 1/8" x 14 1/8". I might choice a paler, thinner edged frame were it up to me, but the framing here was very well done, and this sampler is remarkably well preserved, really beautiful condition, and very well protected here, with just a few very minor light stains, only visible if you are really looking for them.
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