Alice Mather Antique Needlework Sampler Norwich, Connecticut dated 1774 Inscribed: Who can find a virtuous woman/ for her price is far above rubies Alice Mather her Sampler made in the/ twelvth year of her age july th/ 8 AD 1774 Dramatic with its overall stitching, Alice Mather included a bucolic scenic panel in her sampler. She further enhanced it with the unusual addition of a floral chintz applied border. The solidly stitched black background appeared in Norwich in the 1760's as did small sections of a Greek key pattern. The blue house Alice worked is found on earlier Norwich canvas work and the same Biblical verse (Proverbs 31:10) is found on a sampler worked by Naby Lord of Norwich in 1765. The reclining shepherdess figure was popular on canvas-work pieces in Boston in the mid-18th century and the palm tree became a signature characteristic on later work stitched at the Misses Pattens' school in Hartford. Alice Mather (1762 - 1842) was born in Lyme, Connecticut, on 4 Oct 1762 to Samuel Mather and Alice Ransom. Alice married Dr. William Ely (1762-1829) from Lyme, CT in 1783 and later moved to Pleasant Valley, New York. They had four children only one of which survived them. Silk on linen with a printed chintz border 16 1/8 x 13 3/4 inches framed. Price on request STEPHEN & CAROL HUBER (860) 388-6809 Hubers@AntiqueSamplers.com View Other Samplers