4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2013.

Sampler

Maker Adeline Myers

CultureAmerican

Date1798

MediumSilk on linen

DimensionsOverall: 15 1/2 x 17 3/8 in. (39.4 x 44.1 cm)

InscribedStitched in gold thread on the last line: "Adeline Myers her sampler October 8th"

Credit LineMuseum purchase and partial gift of Clay Barr in honor of her sister Elise Wright.

Object number98.8

Not on view

DescriptionThe sampler has a natural linen base with a border of ovals in a silk thread just slightly lighter than the background. It has six rows of alphabets mainly in green with some black. There is a green wavy design under the first row of letters and below that another row of letters in gold. Below that a blue and gold checkerboard border. Next are two rows of the alphabet in green, black, and gold. Under that is a border made up of green cross hatching with black and gold flower-like designs. Under that are two rows of the alphabet in green. Next is a chain like design with gold dotted centers. Below that is a verse: "The happiest man that ever beath'd on earth/With all the glory of estate and birth (1798 in gold)/Had some anxious care to make him kno'/no grandeur was above the reach of woe. The next and last line in gold reads: Adeline Myers her sampler October 8th. (Adeline left the J out of her lines of the alphabet). The stitches in the sampler include: cross over 2, Rice Stitch as double crosses and the Eyelet Stitch. There are 25 wefts x 25 warps. There are selvages at the sides and a hem at the bottom (1/4 inch hem). The top has a cut edge.

Label TextAdeline Myers American (1791-1832) Sampler, 1798 Silk on linen, 15 1/2 x 17 3/8 in. Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Museum purchase and partial gift of Clay Barr in honor of her sister Elise Wright. 98.8ProvenanceMr. Peter Cifelli, Los Gatos, CA; Ken Farmer Auction & Estates, LLC, Roanoke, Va, January, 1998; Chrysler Museum of Art purchase, 1998. Exhibition History"Cherished Keepsakes: Samplers and Embroideries from 17th-19th Centuries," Wilton House Museum, Richmond, VA, April 21 - May 13, 2007. The loan period has been extended through May 2007. Published ReferencesAuction catalog. January 17, 1998, Radford, Virginia; KEN FARMER AUCTIONS & ESTATES, LLC. Radford: Ken Farmer Auctions & Estates. 01/17/1998: No. 121, cover illustration. Unknown. "Ken Farmer Auction Attracts Standing-Room-Only Crowd," ANTIQUES AND THE ARTS WEEKLY. Vol. 25, no. 600. Newtown, CT. 02/27/1998. Unknown. "Auction," MAINE ANTIQUE DIGEST. 04/1998:33-B.