Ex

Two more Pattern Darning Samplers, one with name!

In previous blogs we discussed the Crown-, Cock-, Rococo- and Pattern Darning samplers. Of the last type two wonderful pieces can be added to the list. Both still stand on their own.

The first is of particular historical interest because the initials of ES are known! This is the first time we have a name in this series. ES stands for Evertje Swaan who was born in 1752 in Maarssen. Maarssen is a small town along the river Vecht, just north of Utrecht. The river Vecht flows between Amsterdam and Utrecht and became in the 17th century the favorite location of well to do Amsterdam merchants who would built there their country-houses.

A little background of Evertje is also known. Her father was alderman in Maarssen. What we do not know yet is where the girl went to school. It is still likely that it was in Amsterdam (see previous blogs). Yet, speculating is allowed; perhaps Evertje went by tow-boat to her (semi-) boarding school in Amsterdam, maybe back and forth a few times a month. Or could this group be from a school in Maarssen?

 
ES ( Evertje Swaan) 1765 (Private collection)

Evertje worked the wonderful big rose, a crown imperial and a peony as worked on some of the other samplers and seen on contemporary damask.

Underneath, the sampler has the uncommon combination of a ' regular- 'and pattern darning sampler. The rather large sampler made by MB in 1770 contains maybe the most hours of work of all described samplers so far. You can see why. Obviousely the sampler was very good preserved by careful owners. The girl could choose the finest and most colorful silks. The result in 1770 is still about the same as we see it now 241 years later.

 
MB 1770 (Private Collection)

More findings

In our search for more pieces belonging to the group of Crown-, Cock-, Rococo,- and Patterndarning samplers we found a few others. The one that really stands out is the Pattern darning sampler, a fantastic piece of art made by WLK in 1783. In a previous blog (Crown sampler with cockerels) WLK was the girl who made a Cock- and Crown sampler. The last one was worked in 1782, the two others both in 1783. Quite a production, and probably there is another Rococo sampler somewhere made in that same year. About the sequence of the samplers we know for sure that the Crown sampler came first and the Pattern darning sampler came last. Possibly the Cock sampler came second and the Rococo sampler was the third piece these girls wood make.

WLK 1783 (Private Collection)

Due to the ongoing digitalising of the museum archives we found another sampler in the Amsterdam Museum ( http://collectie.ahm.nl/brief.aspx...search for merklap or stoplap) that fitted right into the group.  It is a crown sampler, although this time more cartouches than separate crowns were practised. The girl worked so many different patterns but was not able to completely finish it; it is not signed nor dated.

Not signed, circa 1780 (Collection Amsterdam Museum)

The last one we found for now was made by ED in 1783. It is still a loner, but maybe it can linked sometime to other samplers. The resemblance with for instance WLK 's sampler is obvious; same material, same composition, almost same patterns, same school! But which one?

We keep searching! If you find any, please let us know.

ED 1783 (Private Collection)

Four more cockerels...

There are four more 'Cock samplers' we want to show now. Two are possibly well known, since they were published before in two books, the other came from our own archives, the Ex files.

Interesting is to set the date. The earliest was made by AMDP in 1768, the latest was worked by RT in 1800, meaning at least a span of 32 years in which this kind of samplers were made. Here they are, the oldest first, the youngest last.

AMDP 1768 (Private Collection)

Striking are the vine tendril  borders, very uncommon on Dutch samplers. The large roses in pots indicates Amsterdam provenance as well. They are seen on most Cock samplers.

 
FW, not dated, circa 1790 (Private collection)

The sampler shown above was on the front page of the booklet by the late Mrs Schipper-Van Lottum, "Merk-en Stoplappen". It is a book on schoolwork of Amsterdam girls. Here you see the variation with a large gate instead of the building.

MED 1799 (Private Collection)

Curiously, the girl MED signed and dated her sampler backwards. Interesting are this time the peacocks, which are similar to the one on IVS 1792 (see previous blog). The sampler was first published  in " Stickmustertücher " by the late Eva Maria Leszner, page 77.

 

RT 1800 (Private Collection)

The sampler above, made by RT in 1800 is so far the youngest Cock sampler we found. Again with a large gate and pagode pillars, the Lion holding the seven arrows symbolising the United Dutch Provinces and as an extra, deers in each bottom corner.

Hopefully more to follow...

 

 

 

Crown sampler with cockerel

It is amazing how a small sampler, worked by IVS in 1792 and coming out of the blue can suddenly connect a whole group of samplers which previously have caused much trouble among sampler researchers. What happened was that the newly discovered sampler as shown underneath was just different from the rest; extra patterns like the peacock, rooster and rabbits were worked by the girl, where normally one would expect alphabets, crowns and cartouches only.

Dutch (Amsterdam) sampler worked by IVS in 1792 (Private collection)

The extra patterns caused a small chain reaction to interpret four different types of samplers, which now becomes clear, are probably all coming from one source. Which one precisely, most likely a French School in Amsterdam, has to be seen. That is only a matter of time ( and plenty of work!) to find out.

In fact,  three types of samplers could already be linked to each other namely, the ' Crown' samplers, the 'Pattern Darning ' samplers and the 'Rococo' samplers. The Groninger museum has three in its collection all made by the same girl, ADM in 1779 (the Crown sampler, in black and white, the silk is red) and the Pattern Darning and Rococo samplers both worked in 1780:

GDM 1779. Collection Groningen Museum

GDM 1780, Collection Groningen Museum

GDM 1780 (Collection Groningen Museum)

So now we can add even an fourth sampler to this group, the ' Cock sampler' ! A good example, was made by WLK in 1783 (a bit blurry, sorry). It is a motley sampler with a lively garden. The house in the garden is on other similar Cock samplers replaced by a big iron fence. An uncommon feature on this one and other similar samplers are the elaborted borders which look are of English influence; they are not particulary Dutch.

Sampler made by WLK in 1783 (Private collection)

With a fresh view on the matter, another sampler made by WLK could now easily be linked.

WLK 1782 (Private collection)

Again made by another girl but belonging to the same group, there is this fine Rococo sampler, made by AS in 1781. You can see the striking resemblance with the ADM sampler above.

Sampler made by AS 1781 (Private collection)

Two fine other samplers were matched by Margriet Hogue of  The Essamplaire (many thanks!). As you can see, this time a Pattern Darningsampler with a Cock sampler, both worked by MIvdG.

 

MIVDG 1796 (Collection Centraal Musem, Utrecht, Netherlands)

MIvdG, aged 11 in 1793 (Collection Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands)

MIVDG was eleven years in 1793. Her Pattern Darning sampler was made three years later.   Conclusion might be that, with this information , the Crown sampler came first, than the Cock sampler followed by the Rococo sampler and rounded up by the Pattern Darning sampler.

Looking at the mix of samplers, the skillful work in combination with original patterns and the use of fine silks really stands out. Naturally, many questions can still be asked about the group of samplers. One would be if the girls ever made all four samplers, or maybe sometimes just two or three (in case of the Groningen Museum samplers) Another question is where exactly the samplers were made, and not unimportant by who! The modest Dutch girls mostly stitched their initials only. And how about the teacher(s), no trace of evidence can be found on any of the approximately 25 samplers known so far.

In any case, the small sampler by IVS caused for a small breakthrough in understanding and researching this important group of samplers of the second half of the 18th century. Hopefully more findings will be published here soon.

In case you might know a Crown-, Rococo- , Pattern Darning- or Cock sampler, please contact us, we would love to see it.  Maybe one day, we can make a set of four!

 

A very, very early Dutch sampler

This Frisian sampler underneath has it all: a great condition, many interesting patterns and alphabets combined with fine work and  a very, very early date. There are only a few samplers known in the Netherlands with an earlier date. And what's more, in Samplerworld there are just a couple with earlier dates.

The sampler,  signed and dated IF 1653, has original patterns taken from the 16th century pattern books. It was made with silks in mostly the long- armed cross-, back- and running stitches. It means that the sampler was very neatly worked on the back.

The double headed eagle, also seen on other similar samplers from this period, indicates the existence of asmall  group of about six known samplers, possibly coming from the same school in the city of Bolsward. Such an excellent level of education!

 
Collection Ex, Amsterdam

The backside:

 
Collection Ex, Amsterdam

A Trouvaille

Some type of  samplers are rare, some are very rare. So is this Vierlande sampler worked in 'full color'. I heard of their existence, but never seen one. The sampler looks very different from its black (and red) counterparts of the region. The composition and patterns, like the rosettes, Trees of Life and cherub-heads are nevertheless the same.

The sampler is small (only 35 x 35 cm) and full! It was made by Met(t)a Mundts in 1806. Worked with silk on linen. So far, no trace of Meta Mundts was found in Vierlande. She might have emigrated to the US at some time.

Vierlande, near Hamburg was in Meta's time a wealthy agricultural region with strong traditions. The Vierlande people came originally from Dutch soil. The similarities with some of the Groningen samplers are remarkable, but could just be accidental.

Now, why is this one in color and others are not? It is certainly not an easy first sampler making effort.  Was it, at least for this girl, a pre-black sampler exercise? And, are there any other colored Vierlande samplers out here?

 Collection Ex Amsterdam

Veronica's Cloth

As one would expect to be this Dutch sampler from the catholic south of the Netherlands, it's not. It was rather made in Amsterdam at an orphanage or private school. The city has always had a large catholic population under protestant government. Catholicism was tolerated however at that time but only after 1848 allowed to be practised openly again.

Nonetheless, this sampler from 1806 has a nice image of the Veil of Veronica. The pattern is quite  uncommon. French sampler makers used it more often. I am not sure, but is Christ winking at us? (There is no trace of the other eye).

Here  is how Hans Memling  portrait the scene:

Above the cloth there is a monstrance, a crown and pierced heart. Underneath the veil the scene of the pelican in her piety. The girl, MCH (?) choose for the Amsterdam style roses combined with other flowers arranged in large urns. And such symmetry!

 
There is one other aspect of this sampler that catches the eyes: the backside! Look at the abundance of the silks. To save the precious material or to learn how to work neatly was apparently not the fist goal of the school.

Antique sampler made at the Werk- en Leerschool

This terrific sampler was made by MC in 1819 at the Werk and Leerschool  or Work-and Learning school in Amsterdam. This school, founded in 1805, had the progressive believe to educate girls from the lower classes. They would become more self supportive. To be able to work as an schooled employee in a household for instance.  For a job seeking girl the diploma of this school was the best they could get. Evenmore, their was great demand for them.

So far, most records of this particular school are missing so we do not know who MC, DC or IM were. The last two initials presumably are of MC's parents. We do know, however, the other two initials in the crests with the crows. GR stands for Geertrui Rijnderts, the headteacher and AH, her assistant and daughter that stands for Alida Haring. Alida Haring worked for more than fifty years as a teacher!

The sampler was very finely made with colorful shiny silk on a transparant thin linen. Typical of Amsterdam samplers are the roses in the vase, together with the apple tree, the Dutch Maid with the hat and the Spies of Canaan. Exceptional is the pair of tables with rugs,  baskets and birds and the 'hanging stars' plants on top of them. A true diploma of fine needlework!

(Collection Ex Antique Samplers Amsterdam)

 

 

A

 

House sampler

Our beautiful and precious center of Amsterdam was recently included on the World Heritage Site list of the Unesco, finally. It seems quite remarkable that Amsterdam girls, in the 17th and 18th century, being part of a fast growing, exciting and wealthy society, never embroidered a real ' lifetime ' building, church or tower, canal or bridge like we sometimes see on English or American samplers. Never? There is one (and maybe more?) exception which is part of the small collection of samplers of the Rijksmuseum.

The maker of this wonderful sampler (or merklap), LDR in 1753 did it different. This house was real, it was her family home and has been identified as being  Egelantiersgracht 14 .The inscription on the sampler tells that the house was founded (in 1693) by LDR's grandfather. The Rijksmuseum has interesting documentation on LDR's piece. Underneath is the Dutch version as shown on the museum's website. In summary: LDR stands either for Laurentina de Ronbaij (1740-1819) or for her sister Lammertje de Ronbaij (1743-1819). The IDR, in the tympan, stands for Jacob, their grandfather. He was blauwverver or blue dyer. His son, the father of the girls was kousenverver or stocking dyer. Laurentina lived on Egelantiersgracht until her death.

Her home than looks very different from the actual situation.  On this foto from 1950, our building is the second from the right. Somewhat different than the one on the sampler; the top was taken of and straightened possibly around 1800 (indeed, when Laurentina still lived there) The small windows and shutters on the sampler are all gone but the two doors, left and right and the middle entree are still there. Many buildings were altered over time and altered again, sometimes according to the latest fashion, or sometimes because of lack of assets for maintenance. Nowadays, fortunately, it is more difficult to change buildings from the outside. The Unesco status should help to keep it like that. At least the house on the sampler is well preserved!

 

Onderstaande tekst is overgenomen van de website van het Rijksmuseum.

Merklap van katoenen mousseline waarop met veelkleurige zijde in kruissteek een huis met klokgevel onder het Amsterdamse stadswapen is geborduurd omgeven door kleine voorstellingen. Onder het stadswapen bevindt zich midden op de merklap een grachtenhuis met klokgevel waarop in de nok van het dak het jaartal 1753 en de letters IDR zijn geborduurd. De punt van het dak wordt omgeven door de tekst: DITHVYSISGESTICHT/DOORMYNGROOTVADER/ENDATINTLIGT. Links en rechts van het stadswapen een ovaal waarin links de letters LDR en rechts het jaartal 1753. De doek is verder opgevuld met diverse kleine scenes en losse ornamenten. Het geel is omgeven door een meanderende rand. Het huis is geidentificeerd als Egelantiersgracht 14, dat op 17 juli 1693 door Jacob de Ronbaij werd gekocht. De letters IDR op de gevel verwijzen naar deze blauwverver (1655-1749(. Kennelijk heeft hij het huis in 1697 laten verbouwen. Zijn zoon Willem (1699-1758), kousenverver en zijn echtgenote Jacomina Selijns (1702-1783) hadden drie dochters: Lammertje (1738-41), Laurentia (1740-1819) en Lammertje (1743-1819). Gezien hun leeftijd, was het hoogstwaarschijnlijk Laurentia die de merklap heeft gemaakt. In haar inventaris van 1820 wordt 'Een geschildert kist met eenig hantwerk f. 1,25' (op zolder) vermeld. Hoewel zij nog steeds in het ouderlijk huis woonde, was het door haar erven gekocht en verandert. Oorspronkelijk waren het twee huizen, no.'s 8 en 10 (Laurentia woonde in 8), maar nu tot één geheel gemaakt.
 

What's new?

It has been a while since our last post. Margot decided to give up this blog  for the moment and I am taking over, with your permission. It will give me the opportunity to elaborate a bit, if needed, on the samplers that are on our regular website or on other sampler affairs. Information can be given and shared easily. I will try to write about interesting matters and at least once a month. Well, ok promised! This one first is about an:

AMSTERDAM SAMPLER COLLECTION

Recently we were able to obtain a  collection  of Amsterdam samplers . The previous owners made one particular demand, only samplers with the coat of arms of the city were allowed to be part of their collection. It resulted in a remarkable wall of samplers with this one thing in common, but at the same time looking all differently.

As Amsterdam dealers we are always proud to show one or two examples that were made just around the corner, and now suddenly we have several at once! We have put a few them on the website.

A very nice one made in an orphanage is this one by A.Stroomberg 1896. Very small of size and worked completely reversible.

So far, we have found about twenty of this type of samplers, dated over more than one hundred years. Curiously, the younger they get, the finer they become. It was the last piece of needlework the orphan would make, and probably only done by the most talented. As a sort of masterpiece.

Another delightful sampler or merklap was made by AMA in 1798. The girl combined biblical images like the Three Kings, the Ascension of Christ and  Joshua and Caleb with more down to earth pattern of  the two lanterns! 

Please have a look on Ex Antiques  for the others. Thank you for looking!