Maria Dolores Palma Y Montero

We are delighted to offer this extraordinary sampler which is easily the finest and most beautiful Mexican sampler that we have ever known. It is quite large with extremely fine needlework throughout. Notably, the inscription (worked along the top and interrupted a bit with the alphabets and numbers) includes the maker’s name, teacher’s name, date, address of the school and, unusually, “Mejico”. It reads, “De mano de Dona Maria Delores Palma y Montero Mejico Y Enero 2nd de 1826 en la Amiga de la Calle de Las Capuchinas Bajo la Direccion D. Dona Josefa Garibai'' and translates to, “From the hand of Dona Maria Dolores Palma Y Montero Mexico January 2nd of 1826 and in the school on Capuchinas Street under the direction of Dona Josefa Garibai.”

There are a great number of very finely stitched pictorial motifs worked near the top of the sampler. Notable are the double-headed eagle and the mermaid but several others are very appealing including the running dog, three-tiered fountain, cat on plinth, and checkerboard hart. There are tiny motifs that fit into tiny spaces, such as the pair of hearts pierced by an arrow at the very far right. 

While these pictorial elements offer much to admire, the dozens of horizontal bands are clearly the main attraction of this sampler. The seven intricate, wide bands at the left were all worked with varied-colored silk floss in pulled thread patterns and are extraordinary in their design and execution. The bands in the center column were delicately worked in the satin stitch, creating excellent graphic patterns. And several of the bands along the right have their origins in very early needlework patterns and include mythical beasts and pelicans plucking at their breasts. 

The word “amigas” as part of the inscription is interesting. This was a type of school that was less formal than a convent school or institution, generally in the home of a widow or unmarried lady. Students were taught embroidery, religion, and writing.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and black painted frame.