"Manhattan Isle" New York Sampler dated 1810

View Similar Items

19th C Signed & Dated 1898 Embroidered Sampler Quilt

Fair Isle Lumbar Pillow

Tribal Bakhtiari Sampler Textile Rug

Midcentury New York City Souvenier Table Cloth

Collection of Four Navajo Sampler Pillows

Midcentury Souvenir New York City Square Table Cloth

Mid-Century New York City Souvenir Table Cloth

1829 Needlepoint Pictorial Sampler of Flowers and Quote by 12-year old Girl.

Pennsylvania Dated 1845 Woven Jacquard Coverlet

Schuamcher Merrifield Sampler 20" Pillow in Document

1 of 2

"Manhattan Isle" New York Sampler dated 1810

About the Item

The Skaats family was prominent within the early Dutch community of New York City, a thriving population that contributed many illustrious citizens and patriots to the colony and then new Republic. The Schaets (Skaats, Skaates, Skates) Family in the Netherlands (1400-1652) and in America (1652-1983) and other publications extensively document the history of this family. The family’s history began with Gideon Schaets (1609-1694), a highly educated and well-connected tutor and schoolmaster in Holland, whose desire to live in the Dutch colonies led him, along with his wife and children, to sail for New Amsterdam in 1652. He was ordained as a minister at Rensselaerswyck, which included most of what are now the New York counties of Albany and Rensselaer, as well as parts of Columbia and Greene Counties. Later Rev. Skaats went on to become a minister at Beverwyck (part of Albany), as well as a missionary among the local Native Americans. Subsequent generations of the Skaats family include a prominent surgeon who died in the Schenectady Massacre of 1690 and a highly respected silversmith of New York City whose work is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Winterthur. Our samplermaker, Elizabeth Skaats, was born on January 15, 1794, the daughter of Elizabeth (Vonck) Skaats and Reynier Skaats (b. 1762). He was the son of Elizabeth (Schuyler) Skaats and Reynier Skaats (1735-1814), who served as the Chief City Marshall of New York. Elizabeth worked this sampler in 1810, when she was 15 years old, signing it, “Elizabeth Skaats New York December 16 1810 Manhattan Isle.” There is a refined nature to the sampler, but at the same time an appealing, folky quality to it. Finely worked depictions of flower baskets and potted plants mingle with trees and flowers and a little cottage that nestles into an apple tree. The needlework is tight, almost dense, but certain details - the scrolled handles of the large lowermost basket of fruit, for example - are graceful and delicate. The verse that Elizabeth stitched in careful and compact cross-stitches, interestingly, quotes from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. On December 5, 1811, Elizabeth married Francis Burras (Burrows / Burrers), a cabinetmaker, and they remained in New York where they had at least two children. She died on July 5, 1872 and is buried along with many family members in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. The sampler was worked in silk on very fine linen gauze. While the needlework is in excellent condition, the linen has sustained losses throughout. Conservation mounting has stabilized this well and it is now in a maple frame with cherry beads. The sight size of the sampler is 17" square. Samplers and needlework are our specialty. If you are interested in more of this type of work please visit our website, samplings. Our 50th catalogue is now available on our site, as well, and this sampler is included.

Dimensions:
Height: 21.5 in (54.61 cm)Width: 21.5 in (54.61 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
Style:
Folk Art (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Silk,Needlework
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1810-1819
Date of Manufacture:
dated 1810
Condition:
While the needlework is in excellent condition, the linen has sustained losses throughout. Conservation mounting has stabilized this well and it is now in a maple frame with cherry beads.
Seller Location:
Philadelphia, PA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU85836379773