1849 Margaryta Garcya’s Mexican sampler

Dated 1849 Mexican sampler by Margaryta Garcya, with the inscription “LOHYSO MARGARYTA GARCYA. EL A DIO DE 1849” (the work of- or, by the hand of- Margaryta Garcya in the year of the Lord 1849). Her use of Y in place of an I is very interesting. Every square inch of this sampler is covered with intricate embroidery, including Aztec stitch, openwork lace techniques, cross stitches, satin stitches and counted beadwork, all worked with very shiny, brightly colored filament silk thread.

It measures 21-1/2″ wide by 14-1/2″ high, and is unframed but beautifully finished all around with a lacy hemstitch border. Color retention of the silk is very good as you can see from the back– it would be lovely to have this framed so that both sides can be viewed.

Condition is very good, with the flaws being some dark hazing around the deep brown silk stitches due to the fugitive nature of that dye and some loss of that black-brown silk thread particularly in the pattern at the right of the birds and pillars (the dye used for that color is corrosive and often deteriorates the thread). No loss to the ground fabric, there are only minor scattered spots and toning to the fabric. I’m happy to take additional photos on request.

An exceptional piece of needlework history. A signature will be required for delivery and insurance is included in the price. Shipping will be billed separately for overseas customers.