A finely worked early nineteenth-century English needlework sampler, signed Elizabeth Taylor and dated 7 March 1811, executed at Devizes, Wiltshire.
Worked in silk threads on a linen ground, the sampler centres upon a carefully rendered brick townhouse with formal doorway and enclosed garden, flanked by stylised trees and birds. Particularly charming are the paired bee skeps stitched within the landscape traditional symbols of industry, diligence and domestic virtue, entirely in keeping with the moral instruction verses above and below.
The composition is balanced and confident, with crisp, disciplined lettering and neatly executed brick infill. The quality of the stitching suggests the hand of a well-taught Regency schoolgirl, likely between eight and twelve years of age at the time of completion. Devizes was a thriving Wiltshire market town in the early nineteenth century, and this piece almost certainly reflects structured town education during that period.
The silk palette has mellowed beautifully with age, retaining soft greens, warm browns and gentle blush tones.
Condition
Overall condition is good for its age. There is some gentle, discolouration to the linen ground, consistent with its early nineteenth-century date, and two small areas of loss. The colours remain pleasing and stable. The sampler is well presented in a 19th-century burr walnut frame with gilt slip, which shows minor surface wear commensurate with age.
A charming, named and precisely dated Regency sampler, rich in symbolism and social history.
Framed dimensions: 59.5 cm x 46.5 cm