Susannah Stonely
England, 1781
This is the finest Ten Commandments sampler that we offered in several years. Filled with many praiseworthy and complex motifs, the composition centers on a letter-perfect rendition entitled “The Ten Commandments Exodus XX” with the inscription, “Susannah Stonely Her Work In the Tenth Year Of her Age 1781,” worked below.
Notable is the excellent assortment of flowers, trees, birds, baskets of fruit, squirrels, deer and dogs, all arranged in the classic mirror-image format that characterizes English samplers of this period. The pair of lawns with strawberry plants and several birds is unusual and adds very nicely to the aesthetic appeal of the sampler.
The samplermaker was most likely the Susannah Stonely, daughter of William and Margaret Stonely, who was baptized on November 7, 1771. They lived in Stepney, an area in the East End of London. Also likely is her marriage to Thomas Higgs in 1792 in nearby Spitalfields.
The sampler was worked in silk on wool and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in its fine, original rosewood frame.
photo of reverse