1897 Emma Marshall age 14 English spot sampler with stags & butterflies

Emma Marshall was 14 when she finished her sampler in May 1897 in Kelhamnott  England. It’s a wonderful late example of a “spot” or motif sampler, a style much less common in the late 1800s than a century earlier. Among the mostly geometric motifs and medallions are butterflies, stags, crosses, crowns and a rather long orange dog (near top right corner). Threads appear to be a mix of spun silk and very fine wool on a finely woven cream colored linen ground.

The condition is generally very good; there is one thumbnail-sized hole near the bottom between the “L” and “H” of Kelham, and a few places of missing stitches that may have either come loose or were not worked at all, and a few loose threads. Colors are still vibrant, especially the red and orange and appear unfaded. The linen is slightly wrinkled and has a few scattered light stains.

The sampler measures about 16-1/4″ square and 18″ including the frame, which is mid-20th century narrow gilded and black lacquered wood, very sturdy and ready to hang. This sampler has not been examined out of the frame.

SOLD