c1840 Maria Perez Mexican sampler

Very large Mexican (or possibly Guatemalan) sampler by Maria Perez, worked with shiny filament silk on a brown evenweave fabric– much deeper than the usual cream or off-white linen, it’s similar in tone to modern “dirty linen” but warmer and a bit more gold-toned. Geometric borders worked in backstitch and Flat or Satin stitches, floral and vase motifs in cross stitch, panes of satiny Aztec stitch and drawn thread work are all featured. The (very difficult to read) inscription seems to be: ZOI DE MARIA CERIRU DIZ PEREZ.

It measures 27″ wide by 20″ high, and is unframed but finished on all four sides with a tidy hemstitch border. Color retention of the silk is quite good. There is one approximately 1/2″ hole and few much smaller ones, some silk loss, water stains and toning to the ground fabric. Conservation mounting on a similar fabric will disguise the hole quite nicely. I’m happy to take additional photos on request.

A wonderful example 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.