So Good She Named It Twice * Auction Roundup

Delightfully, in two braided cartouches to the top left and right of her sampler, Rossina Braid has declared herself, not once but twice, the make of this sampler at age 12. Dated 1825, it is a George IV sampler of Scottish origins, displaying the typical rows of initials above a fine two-storey house, with the distinctive band below. Notice the pair of cartouches lower down the sampler embracing birds - these have much in common with cartouches found across the North Sea in the North Netherlands and Germany and parts of Southern Scandinavia. It measures 54cm x 48 cm ( approx. 22" x 19"). It is Lot  421 for auction in the 25/25th January sale at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood, Exeter. The estimate is £300-£400. Click here for more details.

I think we are all familiar now with Helena's speech from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream : We, Hermia, like two artificial gods, Have with our needles created both one flower, Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion, Both warbling of one song, both in one key, As if our hands, our sides, voices and minds, Had been incorporate. And sometimes it is not too far-fetched when studying a sampler to see the existence of two separate pairs of hands. But there is never any real proof. However, on this sampler we can see recorded the fact that two girls worked on the same sampler: Mary Brown finished this work with Mary Blacklok Harker School on the 23 July 1835 Year of our Lord Jesus Chri (sic). It does look rather as though two minds have been at work on it! I am particularly intrigued by the large carnation knot just above the girls' inscription which is a reincarnation of a sampler some 150 years' previous (see below). This sampler is in its original frame and measures 20" x 27". Lot 652 it is for auction at Brightwell's on 11 January and has an estimate of £150 - £250. Click here for more details.

And here you can see on this detail of a Charles II 17th century band sampler the exact same carnation knot. This band sampler is inscribed: Judeth Fisher Serve The Lord Amen 1662. Measuring 19cm x 68cm (approx. 8" x 27") it is Lot 947 for auction at Fieldings Auctioneers, Stourbridge on 14 January. It has an estimate of £400 - £600. Below you can see the entire sampler. Click here for more details.