Sampler by Mary Lane

Date1831

Maker Mary Lane

OriginEngland, Surrey, Godalming (possibly)

MediumSilk embroidery threads on a worsted ground of 57 x 57 threads per inch (fiber identification by eye) Wooden frame and glass

DimensionsFramed: OW 14 3/8” x OH 17 7/8” Actual (by sight): OW 12 3/4” x OH 16 1/4”

Credit LineGift of Beatrix T. Rumford

Object number2020-76

DescriptionThis is a framed, rectangular needlework sampler worked in shades of green, brown, black, and white embroidery threads on a worsted ground. The top two thirds of the sampler consist of a verse that is framed by an arch of flowering sprigs and five angels. The verse reads: “She was A lovely child/ The darling of her parents hearts/ The sum of all their joys/ Judge ye who know A mothers care/ For the dear babe she bear/ The Parents anguish ye alone/ Such sad vicissitudes have known/ But thou has taken only what’s thine own/ Therefore thy will O Lord not mine be done.” A short line separates the verse from the dedication line which reads: “Matilda Lane Born July the 15th 1808/ Died July the 15th 1812 aged 4 years." The bottom third of the sampler consists of five flower vases interspersed with birds and lions. The signature line is enclosed on three sides by two sawtooth borders worked in satin stitch. The signature line reads: “Mary Lane/ 1831”. The entire sampler is enclosed by an undulating flowering vine. Blue threads mark the selvedges.
Stitches: cross over two, satin

The sampler is in a modern, black frame.
Label TextIn 1831, Mary Lane created this sampler memorializing the death of her sister Matilda Lane who died at the age of four in 1812, nineteenth years earlier. Mary was probably the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Lane, a couple who lived in Godalming, England, who are known to have lost a child named Matilda in 1812.
Inscribed“She was A lovely child/ The darling of her parents hearts/ The sum of all their joys/ Judge ye who know A mothers care/ For the dear babe she bear/ The Parents anguish ye alone/ Such sad vicissitudes have known/ But thou has taken only what’s thine own/ Therefore thy will O Lord not mine be done.”
“Matilda Lane Born July the 15th 1808/ Died July the 15th 1812 aged 4 years."
MarkingsA label attached to the back of the frame reads: “PURNELL/ GALLERIES/ BALTIMORE”.
ProvenanceBeatrix T. Rumford (b. 1939) gave this piece to Colonial Williamsburg in 2020.

History of Maker:

Mary Lane was probably the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Lane of Godalming, Surrey, England. Thomas and Sarah had a daughter named Matilda who was baptized on July 15, 1808 and was buried on July 19, 1812.