This is a large and beautifully composed sampler that was likely a showcase for Sarah Irwin’s accomplishments in the needle arts. The verse, “And here it’s eye of softest blue / Spring’s favorite flower uncloses / And sparkling with the morning dew / May wreaths her early roses” speaks beautifully of the blossoming and rebirth of a garden in early Spring and is itself surrounded by an outstanding enclosure of roses on a thorny vine. 

The horizontal band below that has its origins in traditional sampler designs that extend back to the early 18th century while the assortment of other motifs represent those popular in the very early 19th century. Included are urns of flowers, baskets of fruit, stylized plants and a pair of birds. Sarah Irwin very likely lived in Pennsylvania, probably Philadelphia or Chester County.

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a beveled cherry frame with a black bead.