c1820 Mexican sampler with beaded lambs and floral border

This exceptional Mexican sampler is worked on a very tightly woven linen ground that is so fine it almost does not appear to be evenweave– about 50-55 threads per inch so the cross stitches are tiny! It features a marvelous embroidered blue floral border accented with pulled thread work in the white flower centers, and a solidly beaded pair of lambs at the lower left corner. The embroiderer wasn’t quite finished with her work– there is a single loose strand of golden yellow silk hanging from the basket where she was beginning to fill it in, and on the left side the hand drawn outlines are visible where she intended to continue the blue border. The letters “Savvg” and “TM” might be the start of a name or her initials.

The condition is generally very good with some small stains and light soil to the ground fabric. One small hole above the central basket. No stitch loss. The edges are hemstitched on three sides with a row of cross stitches holding the hem in place at the bottom. The silk thread colors appear the same front and back, so they don’t seem to have faded, although I suspect the linen has darkened with time. Some thread colors are very close the fabric color.

The sampler measures 21″ wide by 14″ high. It is unframed and will be shipped rolled in acid-free paper in a tube.

SOLD